LAWS  OF  FRANCE 

1919 

TOWN  PLANNING 

AND 

REPARATION  OF  DAMAGES 
CAUSED  BY  THE  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR 


TRANSLATION  BY 

ROSCOE  POUND,  Ph.  D.,  LL.D. 

DEAN,  HARVARD   LAW  SCHOOL 

October,  1919 


•  •  'i.? 


Copyright,  1919 

THE  NATIONAL  CIVIC  FEDERATION 

METROPOLITAN  TOWER 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


B.    H.    TYRREL 

206-8    FULTON   STREET 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


FOREWORD 

In  the  belief  that  the  French  laws  on  town  planning  and 
the  reparation  of  recent  war  damage,  both  of  which  became 
effective  last  spring,  would  be  of  direct  interest  and  value  to 
considerable  numbers  of  American  citizens,  we  have  concluded 
to  publish  separately  as  addenda  to  the  Report  of  our  Foreign 
Commission  on  Industrial  Inquiry*  translations  of  these  two 
laws  by  Dr.  Roscoe  Pound,  Dean  of  the  Harvard  Law  School. 
These  translations,  expressed  as  far  as  possible  in  American 
legal  phraseology,  should  prove  of  direct  value  to  any  Americans 
who  are  interested  in  the  general  subject  of  town  planning  or 
who  have  a  desire  or  intention  to  participate  in  any  way  in  the 
rehabilitation  of  French  industries  and  homes.  We  take  this 
opportunity  to  extend  our  sincere  thanks  to  Dean  Pound  for 
his  generous  and  expert  assistance. 

Charles  Mayer,  Chcdrman. 
Andrew  Parker  Nevin. 
James  W.  Sullivan. 
Albert  Farwell  Bemis. 
E.A.  QuARLES,  Secretary. 


*  This  publication,  in  book  form  and  consisting  of  approximately 
400  pages,  will  be  off  the  press  of  Messrs.  E.  P.  Button  &  Company 
about  October  15.  Orders  should  be  addressed  to  The  National  Civic 
Federation,  1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


437ii'7 

8 


I. 

TOWN   PLANNING   LAW 

Enacted  March  14,  1919. 

Article  1.  Without  prejudice  to  the  general  plan  of  street 
and  building  lines  and  levels  imposed  upon  all  communes  by 
Article  136,  Par.  13  of  the  Statute  of  April  5,  1884,  every  city 
of  10,000  inhabitants  and  upwards  is  required  to  have  a  projet 
for  relaying,  improvement  and  extension  [that  is,  of  streets, 
ways,  squares,  etc.] 

This  projet,  which  must  be  drawn  up  within  not  less  than 
three  years  from  the  promulgation  of  the  present  statute,  is  to 
include : 

1.  A  plan  fixing  the  direction,  the  size  and  the  character  of 
the  ways  to  be  laid  out  or  modified,  determining  the  site,  the 
extent  and  the  arrangement  of  squares,  public  gardens,  play- 
grounds, parks  and  different  open  spaces,  and  indicating  the 
reserved  woodlands  to  be  left  in  their  natural  condition  as  well 
as  the  sites  intended  for  monuments  and  public  buildings; 

2.  A  programme  fixing  the  restrictions  hygienic,  archaeologi- 
cal and  aesthetic,  as  well  as  the  other  conditions  relating  thereto, 
and  particularly  the  open  spaces  to  be  reserved,  the  height  of 
buildings,  as  well  as  the  provisions  with  respect  to  distribution 
of  drinking  water,  the  system  of  drains,  the  disposition  of  gar- 
bage, and  if  required  the  drainage  of  the  soil ; 

3.  An  order  of  confirmation  by  the  Mayor  with  the  advice 
of  the  Municipal  Council  governing  the  conditions  of  applica- 
tion of  the  measures  prescribed  in  the  plan  and  the  programme. 

The  same  duties  are  imposed: 

1.  On  all  the  communes  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine ; 

2.  On  towns  of  less  than  10,000  inhabitants  and  more  than 
5,000  inhabitants,  the  population  of  which  has  increased  more 


than  10  per  cent,  in  the  interval  between  two  consecutive  quin- 
quennial censuses; 

3.  Upon  bathing  resorts,  seaside  resorts,  watering  places, 
health  resorts  and  other  pleasure  resorts,  the  population  of 
which,  which  gives  them  their  importance,  increases  50  per  cent, 
or  more  at  certain  periods  of  the  year ; 

4.  Upon  settlements  [literally  groups  of  houses — that  is, 
small  neighborhood  places]  the  importance  of  which  is  in  their 
picturesque  or  artistic  or  historic  character,  which  are  oflBcially 
entered  on  a  list  required  to  be  drawn  up  by  the  departmental 
commissions  of  natural  sites  and  monuments  provided  for  by 
the  statute  of  April  21,  1906  [this  law  provides  for  a  commission 
on  historic,  picturesque  and  artistic  sites  in  each  department  of 
France]  ; 

5.  Upon  groups  of  houses  or  lodging  places  built  up  or 
developed  by  associations,  companies  or  individuals  [that  is, 
where  any  company  or  association  or  individual  erects  a  group 
of  houses  or  lodgings  for  the  workmen  in  some  enterprise  which 
it  or  he  is  conducting]. 

Article  2.  When  a  settlement  whatever  the  number  of  its 
population  has  been  wholly  or  partially  destroyed  by  the  events 
of  war,  by  fire,  by  earthquake  or  by  any  other  catastrophe,  the 
municipality  is  bound  to  cause  to  be  drawn  up  within  three 
months  a  general  plan  of  street  and  building  lines  and  levels 
for  the  parts  which  are  to  be  rebuilt  as  provided  for  by  the 
statute  of  April  5,  1884,  together  with  a  summary  sketch  of  the 
projet  of  relaying,  improvement  and  extension  provided  for  in 
the  first  article  of  the  present  statute. 

An  order  of  the  prefect  made  with  the  advice  of  the  com- 
mission constituted  by  article  4  of  the  present  statute  shall  de- 
cide whether  the  settlement  shall  be  restored  according  to  the 
lines  on  which  it  was  formerly  laid  out,  and  shall  fix  the  period 
of  grade  [that  is  before  the  new  lines  are  to  be  adhered  to]. 

Until  the  plan  of  street  and  building  lines  and  levels  has 
been  approved  no  building  except  provisional  shelters  shall  be 
effectual  to  give  the  builder  legal  rights  without  the  authority 
of  the  prefect  given  upon  the  advice  of  the  commission  consti- 
tuted under  article  4  of  this  statute. 

Article  3.  The  cost  of  the  plans  and  projets  provided  for 
by  the  preceding  articles  are  to  be  a  state  charge  with  respect 

6 


to  the  communes  referred  to  within  the  purview  of  article  2 
above,  notwithstanding  the  principle  laid  down  by  article  136, 
par.  13,  of  the  statute  with  respect  to  municipalities  of  April 
5,  1884. 

The  same  rule  shall  apply  to  settlements  within  the  purview 
of  paragraph  numbered  4  of  the  enumeration  contained  in  article 
1  of  the  present  statute. 

In  the  case  of  other  communes  subventions  may  be  granted 
by  the  decision  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  rendered  upon 
application  of  the  prefect  of  the  department  and  charged  upon 
the  credits  entered  under  this  item  in  the  budget  of  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior.  They  are  to  be  made  in  a  proportion  to  be 
fixed  by  a  decree  made  in  the  form  prescribed  for  regulations 
of  public  administration.  [This  refers  to  administrative  decrees 
prescribing  rules  and  regulations  such  as  we  are  becoming  fa- 
miliar with  in  this  country  and  which  have  long  been  known  in 
France.] 

Abticle  4.  In  the  prefecture  of  each  department  a  commis- 
sion to  be  presided  over  by  the  prefect  or  his  representative  is 
hereby  constituted  which  shall  be  styled  "The  departmental 
commission  for  relaying  and  extension  of  cities  and  villages." 
The  commission  shall  be  composed  of  the  departmental  council 
of  hygiene,  of  the  departmental  commission  of  natural  sites  and 
monuments,  of  the  departmental  commission  of  civil  buildings 
and  of  four  mayors  appointed  by  the  general  council. 

This  commission  shall  give  hearings  to  the  delegates  of  so- 
cieties of  architecture,  of  art,  of  archaeology,  of  history,  of  agri- 
culture, of  commerce,  of  industry  and  of  sport,  and  to  repre- 
sentatives of  transportation  companies  in  the  department  as  well 
as  the  mayors  of  cities  or  communes  interested  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  different  public  services  of  the  state  which  it  thinks 
ought  to  be  brought  together  for  the  purpose  or  who  request 
an  opportunity  to  present  their  views.  It  may  add  to  its  num- 
ber secretaries  who  shall  have  a  deliberative  voice  in  the  affairs 
which  they  report.  [I  have  used  the  word  "secretary"  here  for 
'^rapporteurs"  because  of  the  analogy  of  the  secretary  of  com- 
missions and  boards  in  this  country.  No  English  word  will  give 
exactly  the  idea.  Persons  with  special  information  in  particular 
lines  who  can  make  reports  to  the  commission  with  respect  to 


those  lines  are  to  be  added  in  the  discretion  of  the  commission 
and  are  to  have  a  voice  in  the  deliberations  of  the  commission 
when  the  subjects  in  question  are  before  it.  Perhaps  "expert" 
might  be  better  but  there  is  no  requirement  that  these  rappor- 
teurs be  experts.  I  should  suspect  that  it  would  be  best  to  use 
the  word  ^'rapporteur"  and  then  put  in  an  explanation  of  what 
is  meant  by  way  of  commentary.] 

Each  commission  shall  bring  together  all  the  necessary  docu- 
ments required  to  facilitate  the  commune  in  the  preparation  of 
their  projets  and  to  guide  them. 

It  shall  give  its  advice : 

1.  With  respect  to  the  projets  drawn  up  by  the  munici- 
palities ; 

2.  With  respect  to  the  departures  from  the  principles  laid 
down  by  the  superior  commission  instituted  under  article  5  of 
this  law  which  may  be  required  because  of  special  difficulties 
or  local  needs. 

3.  With  respect  to  the  aesthetic  or  hygienic  servitudes  re- 
sulting from  the  projets  which  are  submitted  to  it.  [That  is, 
as  we  should  say,  the  easements  to  which  property  in  the  munici- 
pality ought  to  be  subjected  on  aesthetic  or  hygienic  grounds 
in  carrying  out  the  projets.] 

4.  With  respect  to  all  matters  which  the  prefect  considers  it 
useful  to  submit  thereto. 

Article  5.  A  superior  commission  on  relaying,  improvement 
and  extension  of  cities  under  the  presidency  of  the  Minister,  or 
of  his  delegate,  and  the  vice-presidency  of  the  Minister  in  charge 
of  liberated  regions,  or  his  delegate,  is  hereby  constituted  in  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior  and  is  to  be  made  up  as  follows : 

Two  senators  elected  by  the  Senate; 

Four  deputies  elected  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies; 

Two  Councillors  of  State  in  the  ordinary  service  designated 
by  their  colleagues; 

Four  Mayors  of  whom  three  are  to  be  designated  by  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior  and  one  by  the  Minister  in  charge  of  liber- 
ated regions,  of  whom  two  shall  represent  communes  of  from 
20,000  to  50,000  inhabitants  and  two  communes  of  more  than 
50,000  inhabitants; 

8 


The  director  of  the  departmental  and  communal  adminis- 
tration in  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior; 

The  director  of  public  aid  and  hygiene  in  the  Ministry  of 
the  Interior; 

Four  members  of  the  superior  council  of  public  hygiene 
designated  by  their  colleagues; 

Four  members  of  the  superior  council  of  the  fine  arts  desig- 
nated by  their  colleagues; 

Four  members  of  the  superior  council  of  civil  buildings  desig- 
nated by  their  colleagues; 

Four  members  chosen  from  city  planners,  architects  and 
other  persons  particularly  qualified,  to  be  designated  two  by 
the  Minister  in  charge  of  liberated  regions  and  two  by  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior. 

The  commission  may  add  to  its  number  secretaries  who  shall 
have  a  deliberative  voice  in  the  affairs  which  they  report. 

This  commission  is  charged  with  drawing  up  general  rules 
to  guide  municipalities  in  the  application  of  the  present  statute, 
and  shall  give  its  advice  upon  all  questions  and  all  projets  which 
are  referred  to  it  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  or  the  Minister 
in  charge  of  liberated  regions,  either  of  their  own  motion  or  at 
the  request  of  the  commission  itself  upon  a  statement  setting 
forth  the  reasons  for  the  request. 

Article  6,  If  the  pro  jet  affects  only  a  single  commune,  and 
except  in  the  case  provided  for  in  the  5th  paragraph  of  the 
first  article  (which  is  governed  by  article  8  hereinafter  with 
respect  to  groups  of  buildings)  the  municipal  council  at  the 
instance  of  the  mayor  shall  designate  an  artist  or  a  society  to 
which  it  shall  give  in  charge  preparation  of  the  sketch  herein- 
before provided  for  and  the  preparation  of  plans  and  projets. 

If  within  two  months  from  the  promulgation  of  the  present 
statute  such  designation  has  not  been  made  the  prefect  shall 
notify  the  municipal  council  to  proceed  within  one  month  to 
make  the  designation,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  shall 
make  the  necessary  designation  himself  on  his  own  motion. 

If  the  plan  has  not  been  drawn  up  within  the  time  provided 
for  by  articles  1  and  2  above  the  prefect  shall  proceed  of  his 
own  motion  to  carry  out  this  requirement  at  the  expense  of  the 
commune,  and  the  commune  shall  forfeit  its  right  to  the  sub- 
vention provided  for  in  article  3,  par.  3,  of  the  present  law. 

9 


Article  7.  When  the  plan,  programme  and  confirmation 
thereof  provided  for  in  Article  1  have  been  drawn  up  they  shall 
be  submitted,  after  taking  the  opinion  of  the  Bureau  of  Hygiene, 
and  in  default  thereof,  the  opinion  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
of  the  district: 

1.  To  examination  by  the  municipal  council ;    • 

2.  To  an  inquiry  under  the  conditions  of  the  ordinance  of 
August  23,  1835; 

3.  To  examination  by  the  commission  provided  for  in  Arti- 
cle 4. 

The  municipal  council  is  required  to  give  its  definite  opinion. 

If  the  municipal  council  refuses  or  neglects  to  examine  the 
plan  the  prefect  shall  notify  it  that  it  is  in  default  and  prescribe 
a  period  of  not  more  than  one  month  within  which  it  is  to  act,  at 
the  expiration  whereof  he  shall  examine  the  plan  himself. 

The  same  rule  shall  apply  in  case  the  municipal  council  re- 
fuses or  neglects  to  give  its  definite  opinion. 

The  prefect  shall  transmit  the  documents,  together  with  his 
opinion  stating  the  grounds  thereof,  to  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior who  shall  consult  the  superior  commission  if  he  thinks  it 
necessary,  and  the  work  which  is  required  to  be  done  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  plan  shall  be  decreed  to  be  of  public  utility  by  de- 
cree of  the  council  of  state.  In  every  case  of  a  settlement  within 
the  purview  of  article  2  of  this  statute  the  declaration  of  public 
utility  shall  be  made  by  a  decision  of  the  prefect  upon  the  advice 
of  the  commission  constituted  by  article  4,  except  so  far  as  con- 
cerns settlements  enumerated  in  article  1,  for  which  a  decree  of 
the  council  of  state  shall  always  be  necessary. 

Article  8.  Associations,  companies  and  individuals  who  un- 
dertake the  erection  or  development  of  groups  of  buildings  are 
required  to  deposit  in  the  office  of  the  Mayor  a  plan  of  laying 
them  out  which  shall  include  a  plan  for  adjusting  them  to  the 
public  ways  and  if  necessary  to  the  conduits  of  drinking  water 
and  the  sewers  of  the  commune. 

Within  twenty  days  after  depositing  this  plan  it  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  examination  by  the  Bureau  of  Hygiene,  or  in  default 
thereof,  the  Sanitary  Commission  of  the  district,  then  to  the  mu- 
nicipal council  and  afterwards  to  an  inquiry  in  accordance  with 

10 


the  forms  prescribed  by  the  circular  of  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior of  August  20,  1825. 

If  the  proprietor  has  served  a  duly  attested  notice  upon  the 
Mayor  and  no  action  has  been  taken  within  one  month  there- 
after the  prefect  may  order  the  inquiry. 

The  plan  shall  then  be  submitted  to  the  commission  provided 
by  Article  4  above  and  shall  be  approved  if  there  is  occasion  by 
a  decision  of  the  prefect. 

The  decision  of  the  prefect  is  to  be  made  within  one  month 
after  the  inquiry.  In  default  of  a  decision  within  that  time  the 
plan  shall  be  taken  to  be  approved. 

If  the  plan  is  approved  no  building  shall  be  built  without  a 
permit  from  the  Mayor  according  to  the  conditions  provided  for 
by  Article  11  of  the  Statute  of  February  15,  1902. 

Article  9.  In  case  the  projet  for  reconstruction,  laying  out, 
improvement  and  extension  is  such  as  to  affect  several  communes 
of  a  department  the  prefect  may  require  a  sketch  of  the  projet 
as  a  whole  from  the  municipalities  affected  and  may  direct  even 
on  his  own  motion  intercommunal  conferences  according  to  the 
organization  of  the  communes  and  in  conformity  with  the  require- 
ments of  Articles  116  and  169  of  the  Statute  of  April  5,  1884. 

The  projet  shall  be  examined  and  declared  a  public  utility 
according  to  the  forms  provided  by  Articles  6  and  7  of  this 
statute. 

Abticle  10.  If  it  is  expedient  that  the  plan  go  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  department  it  shall  be  reviewed  by  the  inter-depart- 
mental conference  according  to  the  provisions  of  Articles  89,  90 
and  91  of  the  Statute  of  August  10,  1871,  and  thereafter  shall  be 
submitted  in  each  commune  to  the  formalities  provided  for  by 
Articles  6  and  7  of  this  statute. 

It  shall  be  declared  a  public  utility  by  a  statute  which  shall 
determine  the  measures  necessary  for  its  application. 

Article  11.  From  the  publication  of  the  official  action  de- 
claring a  plan  of  reconstruction,  relaying,  improvement  and  ex- 
tension to  be  a  public  utility,  or  from  the  decision  of  the  prefect 
approving  plans  with  respect  to  groups  of  buildings  within  the 
purview  of  Article  8,  the  proprietor  of  land  adjacent  to  the  ways 

11 


and  squares  projected  must  conform  to  the  rules  prescribed  by 
the  law  relating  to  building  lines  and  shall  not  do  any  new  build- 
ing without  first  obtaining  a  building  permit  from  the  Mayor. 
No  new  building  shall  be  done  adjacent  to  the  ways  and  squares 
laid  out  upon  the  projet  except  in  conformity  to  the  building 
lines  fixed  thereon. 

To  insure  this  no  building  shall  be  built  without  a  building 
permit  from  the  Mayor. 


12 


n. 


STATUTE  WITH  RESPECT  TO  THE  REPARA- 
TION OF  DAMAGES  CAUSED  BY  THE 
EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR 

Enacted  April  18,  1919. 
TITLE  I.     General  Provisions. 

Article  1.  The  Republic  proclaims  as  a  principle  that  all 
Frenchmen  are  to  bear  equally  the  expenses  of  the  war.  [The 
word  '^solidarite"  used  in  this  connection  may  be  best  explained 
by  referring  to  the  contrast  between  the  ohligatio  in  solidum  of 
the  Roman  law,  and  the  joint  and  several  obligation  in  our  law. 
In  our  law  where  there  is  a  plurality  of  creditors  they  are  always 
joint  creditors,  whereas  a  plurality  of  debtors  may  be  either  joint 
or  several.  In  the  civil  law  the  obligation  may  be  solidary  both 
with  respect  to  the  creditors  and  with  respect  to  the  debtors — 
that  is,  there  may  be  joint  and  several  debtors  as  well  as  joint 
and  several  creditors.  All  Frenchmen  in  their  capacity  of  suf 
ferers  are  joint  and  several  creditors,  and  all  Frenchman  in  theij 
capacity  of  taxpayers  are  joint  and  several  debtors  to  repair  the 
damage.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  put  such  a  conception  into 
English  because  we  have  no  occasion  for  a  word  to  express  such 
an  idea.] 

Article  2.  Certain,  material  and  direct  damage  in  France 
or  in  Algiers  to  immovable  or  movable  property  caused  by  the 
events  of  the  war  shall  give  rise  to  the  right  for  the  specific 
reparation  provided  by  Article  12  of  the  Statute  of  December 
26,  1914,  without  prejudice  to  the  right  of  the  French  govern- 
ment to  make  claim  for  payment  therefor  from  the  enemy. 

In  particular  the  following  shall  be  regarded  as  damages  re- 
sulting from  the  events  of  the  war : 

13 


1.  All  requisitions  levied  by  enemy  authorities  or  troops, 
levies  in  kind  in  whatever  form  made,  even  if  under  the  form  of 
occupation,  billeting  or  cantonment,  as  well  as  imposts,  contribu- 
tions of  war,  and  penalties  whether  exacted  from  individuals  or 
from  collectivities.  [French  juristic  theory  thinks  of  a  corpora- 
tion as  a  case  of  collective  ownership,  that  is  to  say,  what  we 
should  call  the  property  of  the  corporation  is  thought  of  as  prop- 
erty devoted  to  collective  purposes.  So  corporations,  municipal 
corporations,  associations,  and  all  manner  of  groups  which  have 
property  devoted  to  a  common  or  group  purpose  would  be  re- 
ferred to  as  a  collectivity.  We  have  no  such  idea  and  in  conse- 
quence no  such  word.] 

2.  The  removal  of  objects  such  as  crops,  animals,  trees  and 
wood,  raw  material,  merchandise,  furniture,  household  goods, 
securities  and  commercial  paper;  deterioration  or  destruction, 
total  or  partial,  of  crops,  merchandise,  and  all  manner  of  mov- 
ables, no  matter  who  may  have  caused  these  removals,  deterio- 
rations or  destructions ;  the  loss  of  movable  property  whether  in 
France  or  abroad  in  the  course  of  evacuations  or  repatriations. 
[Perhaps  I  need  not  say  that  in  the  civil  law  property  is  divided 
into  movable  and  immovable,  a  distinction  not  exactly  corre- 
sponding to  our  distinction  of  realty  and  personalty.  Movables 
could  be  very  nearly  translated  by  chattels,  but  it  seems  prefer- 
able to  use  a  term  which  will  not  involve  any  of  the  historical 
anomalies  connoted  by  the  word  chattel.] 

3.  Deteriorations  of  land,  whether  built  upon  or  not  built 
upon,  including  woods  and  forests;  partial  or  total  destruction 
of  buildings ;  deterioration  or  destruction  total  or  partial  of  im- 
plements, accessories  and  animals  appurtenant  to  the  commer- 
cial, industrial,  or  agricultural  use  of  the  land,  which  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  present  statute  shall  be  considered  as  immovable  by 
destination,  whether  they  belong  to  the  operator  or  to  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  land,  without  inquiry  as  to  who  were  the  authors 
of  the  damage  referred  to  in  this  paragraph.  [This  paragraph 
refers  to  a  peculiar  French  doctrine  of  what  are  called  "mov- 
ables immovable  by  destination. ' '  The  Roman  law  of  pertinentia 
was  substantially  the  same  as  our  law  of  fixtures.  In  the  French 
feudal  law  certain  things  brought  upon  large  feudal  estates  for 
the  use  of  the  estate  were  regarded  as  becoming  appurtenant  to 

U 


the  estate  through  the  purpose  of  the  owner  to  use  them  upon 
the  land  for  the  purpose  of  operating  it  as  an  agricultural  enter- 
prise. The  French  civil  code,  articles  517,  524  and  525  took  over 
this  doctrine  and  it  can  also  be  found  in  the  Louisiana  Code, 
article  468.  According  to  the  French  code  argricultural  imple- 
ments, seed  furnished  to  a  tenant  by  the  landlord,  pigeons  in  a 
pigeon  house,  rabbits  in  rabbit  warrens,  beehives,  fish  in  fish 
ponds,  presses,  boilers,  stills,  vats  and  barrels,  the  tools,  imple- 
ments and  machines  necessary  for  iron  works,  paper  works  and 
other  like  industrial  enterprises,  straw  and  manure,  and  all  mov- 
able property  which  the  owner  had  shown  he  intended  to  use 
permanently  in  connection  with  the  land  are  immovable  by  des- 
tination. The  provision  in  the  present  law  extends  this  princi- 
ple to  everything  which  was  upon  the  land  for  the  purpose  of 
operating  it  in  a  commercial,  industrial  or  agricultural  enter- 
prise.] 

4.  All  damages  within  the  purview  of  the  preceding  para- 
graphs caused  within  the  zone  of  frontier  defence  as  well  as  in 
the  neighborhood  of  fortifications  and  intrenched  places,  and 
those  who  have  rights  under  this  provision  shall  not  be  subject 
to  any  defence  based  upon  the  statutes  and  decrees  with  refer- 
ence to  military  servitudes.  In  every  case  in  fixing  the  amount 
of  indemnity  the  commissions  of  valuation  shall  take  account  of 
the  permissive  character  of  constructions  built  in  military  zones 
in  contravention  of  the  statutes  and  administrative  regulations 
or  by  virtue  of  authorizations  subject  to  a  promise  to  take  out 
upon  request.  [Military  servitudes  above  could  be  translated,  if 
we  had  such  a  thing  in  our  law,  military  easements — that  is  re- 
strictions upon  the  rights  of  owners  by  way,  as  it  were,  of  the 
easements  of  the  state  to  do  certain  things  thereon  for  military 
purposes.  I  suppose  we  have  no  such  conception.  Either  we 
should  take  by  eminent  domain  or  we  should  say  that  there  is  a 
license,  as  it  were,  by  operation  of  law.  Precaire  means  sub- 
stantially what  we  mean  by  permissive  when  we  speak  of  a  per- 
missive user  of  land.  Literally  a  precarium  is  a  holding  at  will. 
I  translate  engagement,  promise.  It  is  a  somewhat  stronger  term. 
It  means  a  legally  binding  promise.] 

5.  All  damage  done  to  boats  equipped  for  fishing.    An  ad- 

15 


ministrative  regulation  shall  determine  the  procedure  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  proof  and  appraisement  of  the  damage. 

Damages  within  the  purview  of  the  preceding  paragraphs 
shall  include  those  caused  by  the  French  or  allied  armies,  whether 
by  reason  of  measures  in  preparation  for  attack,  preventive  meas- 
ures for  defence,  the  necessities  of  battle  and  of  evacuation  of 
threatened  points,  or  by  reason  of  the  requirements  of  occupa- 
tion in  those  parts  of  the  territory  comprised  in  the  zone  of  the 
armies  and  in  particular  requisitions,  billets  and  cantonments; 
and  power  is  reserved  to  the  claimant  at  his  election  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  provisions  of  the  statutes  of  July  10,  1791,  and  July 
3,  1877  and  of  the  decrees  of  August  2,  1877,  November  23,  1886, 
and  December  27,  1914. 

The  damages  shall  be  approved  and  appraised  and  the  indem- 
nity fixed  with  respect  to  each  person  injured  according  to  cate- 
gories following  the  classification  hereafter  provided  and  in  con- 
formity with  the  provisions  of  the  present  statute.  The  injured 
person  shall  have  the  power  to  assert  at  the  same  time  claims  for 
the  different  categories  of  damage  to  which  he  has  been  sub- 
jected. 

Article  3.  Individuals  and  their  heirs,  associations,  public 
establishments  or  establishments  of  public  utility,  communes  and 
departments,  shall  be  admitted  to  exercise  the  right  hereinafter 
defined.  [With  us  the  property  of  charitable  institutions,  schools, 
hospitals,  museums  and  the  like  is  owned  by  trustees,  or  else  such 
institutions  are  incorporated.  In  the  civil  law  it  is  customary 
to  devote  certain  property  to  ends  of  public  utility  of  the  sort 
and  to  treat  and  think  of  the  property  much  as  we  should  think 
of  a  corporation.  In  other  words,  the  property  devoted  to  such 
a  purpose  is  administered  through  agents,  whereas  we  should 
say  there  is  a  corporation  owning  the  property  and  acting 
through  agents.] 

Corporations  and  partnerships  a  part  of  whose  capital  was 
withheld  by  citizens  of  enemy  powers  after  the  1st  of  August, 
1914  shall  be  reimbursed  by  the  state  by  stoppage  of  the  divi- 
dends declared  to  holders  of  securities  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
enemy  powers  or  by  other  stoppages  imposed  upon  such  holders 
in  order  to  cast  upon  them  the  share  of  the  indemnity  which  the 
capital  detained  by  such  enemies  would  have  produced.     [8o- 

16 


ciete  in  French  law  includes  both  partnerships  and  what  the 
English  would  call  companies  and  we  should  call  corporations.] 

An  administrative  regulation  shall  determine  the  conditions 
under  which  the  preceding  paragraph  is  to  be  applied. 

The  right  of  reparation  shall  belong  to  foreigners  in  France 
and  to  naturalized  persons  who  have  recovered  the  condition  of 
Frenchmen,  under  the  conditions  determined  by  treaties  to  be 
concluded  between  France  and  the  nation  under  whose  jurisdic- 
tion these  foreigners  or  these  naturalized  persons  are  or  have 
been.  Simply  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  their  rights  foreign- 
ers shall  be  admitted  to  make  proof  and  have  appraisement  of 
the  damages  which  they  may  have  suffered. 

A  special  statute  shall  determine  the  conditions  under  which 
concessionaries  of  means  of  communication  of  general  interest 
may  be  admitted  to  the  benefit  of  the  present  statute.  [Conces- 
sion in  the  civil  law  means  much  the  same  as  franchise  with  us. 
The  French  divide  "matters  of  general  interest"  into  travaux 
publics  (carried  on  by  departments  and  communes  and  public 
establishments — that  is,  public  charitable  foundations)  and  en- 
terprises carried  on  by  concessionaries  subject  to  administrative 
control.] 

TITLE  II.     On  Indemnity. 

Article  4.  With  respect  to  immovables  the  indemnity  shall 
include  the  amount  of  loss  undergone  appraised  as  of  the  day 
before  the  mobilization  and  the  amount  of  additional  expense 
necessary  for  restoring  immovables  damaged  or  destroyed.  The 
grant  of  these  two  elements  of  indemnity  is  subject  to  the  condi- 
tion that  the  claimant  effectively  resumes  the  use  of  the  property 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  articles  following. 

In  case  use  of  the  property  is  not  resumed  the  injured  person 
shall  receive  only  the  amount  of  the  loss  undergone.  [As  I  un- 
derstand this  the  two  elements  are,  first,  the  diminution  in  the 
value  of  the  land  as  such  found  by  comparing  the  value  of  the 
land  today  with  the  value  which  it  had  the  day  before  mobiliza- 
tion, and,  second,  the  additional  amount  necessary  to  rebuild  and 
repair  actual  waste  due  to  the  rise  in  wages  and  materials  during 
and  since  the  war.  The  second  item  is  conditioned  upon  resump- 
tion of  use  of  the  land.] 

17 


Article  5.  The  amount  of  the  loss  undergone  and  the 
amount  of  additional  expense  required  to  restore  immovables 
shall  be  valued  separately  by  the  commissions  constituted  by  arti- 
cles 20  and  following  of  the  present  statute. 

In  case  of  buildings  and  immovables  by  destination  the 
amount  of  loss  undergone  shall  be  appraised  by  taking  for  the 
basis  the  cost  of  construction  installation  or  reparation  on  the 
day  before  mobilization,  deducting  for  depreciation,  for  age  and 
decay,  and  in  case  of  immovables  rebuilt  or  repaired  after  mobi- 
lization the  cost  on  the  day  when  they  were  repaired  or  rebuilt. 

In  case  use  is  not  resumed,  if  the  immovable  was  transferred 
more  than  ten  years  before  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  and  the 
transfer  was  attested  officially  as  of  a  date  certain,  the  price  set 
forth  in  the  instrument  of  transfer  shall  be  taken  account  of  in 
appraising  the  loss  undergone  if  that  price  is  less  than  the  ap- 
praisement provided  for  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  The 
amount  of  loss  undergone  shall  not  be  permitted  to  exceed  the 
sale  value  of  the  immovable  on  the  day  before  mobilization. 

With  respect  to  immovables  referred  to  in  the  second  para- 
graph of  the  present  article  the  additional  cost  shall  be  taken  to 
be  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  construction,  installation  or 
reparation  on  the  day  before  mobilization  and  that  of  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  same  sort  of  immovables  on  the  day  of  the  appraise- 
ment. 

Subject  to  the  condition  of  resumption  of  use  a  sum  corre- 
sponding to  the  depreciation  resulting  from  age  and  decay  will 
be  allowed  to  the  claimant  with  respect  to  each  piece  of  property 
up  to  the  amount  of  frs.  10,000,  and  for  the  remainder  the 
amount  of  the  depreciation  may  be  advanced  by  the  state  at  the 
request  of  the  claimant  to  be  repaid  by  him  to  the  state  in  25 
years  from  the  date  of  the  last  payment  with  3  per  cent,  interest. 

Subject  to  the  same  condition  the  depreciation  for  age  and 
decay  shall  not  exceed  20  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  construction  on 
the  day  before  mobilization  in  case  of  lands  admitting  only  of 
use  in  agriculture.  For  the  repayment  of  these  advances  the 
state  shall  have  a  lien  which  shall  stand  in  the  first  class  of  the 
liens  governed  by  article  2103  of  the  civil  code.  [Article  2103 
of  the  French  Civil  Code  provides  who  shall  have  liens  upon  land 
by  operation  of  law  as  distinguished  from  liens  created  by  legal 
transactions.    Such  persons  are,  first,  vendors  (compare  the  ven- 

18 


dor's  lien  in  our  law),  second,  persons  who  have  advanced  the 
money  for  the  purchase  of  lands  (compare  the  resulting  trust 
in  our  law),  third,  co-heirs  with  respect  to  the  money  due  them 
to  equalize  the  lands  awarded  upon  partition  (compare  the  equi- 
table charge  in  like  case  in  our  law),  fourth,  architects,  contrac- 
tors, masons  and  workmen  employed  in  building,  etc.  (compare 
the  mechanic's  lien  in  our  law),  fifth,  persons  who  have  lent 
money  to  pay  workmen  in  such  cases.] 

In  case  the  immovables  destroyed  were  used  for  industrial, 
commercial  or  agricultural  purposes  the  resumption  of  use  may 
take  the  form  of  the  like  use  of  immovables  in  the  commune 
where  the  damage  was  done  or  within  a  radius  of  50  kilometers 
provided  it  is  within  the  devastated  zone.  In  every  case  of  ex- 
propriation or  repurchase  of  lands  by  the  state  the  resumption  of 
use  may  be  made  by  a  use  of  land  for  agriculture  within  the 
devastated  regions. 

Buildings  shall  be  rebuilt  in  conformity  with  the  provisions 
prescribed  by  the  statutes  and  administrative  regulations  as  to 
public  hygiene. 

Within  15  days  following  the  promulgation  of  the  present 
statute  a  regulation  of  public  administration  may  with  the  ad- 
vice of  the  Superior  Council  on  Hygiene  determine  the  rules  to 
be  applied  to  the  reconstruction  of  buildings  and  groups  of 
buildings. 

The  resumption  of  use  wiU  be  considered  as  complete  if  the 
claimant  has  rebuilt  the  buildings  destroyed,  or  has  spent  in  re- 
building a  sum  equal  to  the  amount  of  indemnity  due  to  him 
with  respect  to  each  property. 

If  the  resumption  of  use  is  only  partial  the  claimant  shall 
only  receive  the  proportion  of  the  additional  expense  which  cor- 
responds to  the  amount  expended. 

In  the  case  of  land  not  built  upon  the  amount  of  loss  under- 
gone will  be  appraised  by  taking  account  of  the  depreciation  of 
the  soil,  the  depreciation  or  destruction  of  fences,  of  trees  of  all 
sorts,  of  vines,  plantations,  shrubs  and  underbrush  and  forest 
trees.  In  case  of  resumption  of  use  the  claimant  in  addition  to 
the  amount  of  additional  expense  necessitated  for  putting  the 
land  into  its  former  condition  of  use  and  productivity  shall  be 
entitled  to  the  amount  required  for  rebuilding  fences,  the  re- 
moval of  stumps,  for  new  plantations  and  for  reforestation. 

19 


Claimants  shall  be  entitled  to  pool  their  rights  to  indemnity 
or  to  put  them  into  partnerships  or  corporations  for  the  purpose 
of  rebuilding  immovables  or  resuming  agricultural,  commercial 
or  industrial  enterprises  according  to  the  conditions  and  within 
the  limits  provided  for  in  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

In  case  of  such  pooling  or  partnership  or  corporation  they 
shall  not  be  entitled  to  have  their  rights  registered  for  more  than 
the  value  which  they  had  before  the  war. 

[That  is  if  several  persons  who  claim  damage  enter  into  a  cor- 
poration or  limited  company  for  the  purpose  of  resumption  of 
use  in  reckoning  the  capital  of  the  company  their  rights  shall 
not  be  put  in  for  more  than  the  value  which  they  had  prior  to  the 
war.] 

In  case  of  public  service  companies,  departments,  communes 
and  public  enterprises  or  enterprises  of  public  utility,  the  in- 
demnity shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  the  cost  of  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  immovable  subject  to  prior  encumbrances. 

With  respect  to  concessionaries  of  mines  the  grant  of  indem- 
nity provided  for  by  the  present  article  is  subject  to  the  condi- 
tion of  resumption  of  use  unless  the  impossibility  of  resuming 
is  duly  established  in  which  case  the  indemnity  shall  be  only  the 
amount  of  loss  undergone. 

Article  6.  The  reconstruction  of  a  building  or  resumption 
of  use  in  any  case  may  be  forbidden  on  its  own  motion  by  the 
tribunal  for  ascertaining  damages  resulting  from  the  war  if  it  is 
found  to  be  impossible  or  contrary  to  economic  necessity  or  con- 
trary to  the  public  health. 

Article  7.  In  case  resumption  of  use  does  not  take  place 
the  indemnity  shall  still  be  reckoned  by  taking  account  of  the 
amount  of  loss  undergone  and  the  additional  expense.  The  per- 
son injured  shall  receive  the  amount  of  loss  undergone. 

The  additional  expense  of  reconstruction  shall  be  turned  into 
a  general  fund  under  conditions  determined  by  the  statutes  with 
respect  to  finances  in  order  to  be  employed  for  the  advantage  of 
injured  regions. 

Article  8.  If  resumption  of  use  does  not  take  place  the  pay- 
ment of  loss  undergone  shall  be  made  by  turning  over  to  the 
person  injured  a  bond  representing  the  amount  due  him  and 
bearing  interest  at  5  per  cent. 

20 


These  bonds  shall  be  non-transferable  for  5  years  from  date 
of  their  delivery  to  the  claimant ;  during  this  period  they  may  be 
assigned  by  the  authority  of  the  tribunal  stating  the  grounds 
thereof,  such  authority  to  be  given  by  the  court  in  banc  after 
hearing  a  representative  of  the  public.  There  may  be  an  appeal 
from  the  decision  of  the  tribunal  of  first  instance  to  a  court  which 
shall  decide  the  matter  in  banc  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
appropriate  to  its  summary  jurisdiction. 

Every  transfer  in  violation  of  the  preceding  provisions  shall 
be  void ;  a  judgment  of  nullity  may  be  pronounced  at  the  request 
of  the  minister  of  finance. 

After  5  years  the  payment  of  the  bond  shall  be  made  in  cash 
in  ten  equal  annual  instalments,  the  first  of  which  may  be  de- 
manded at  the  expiration  of  6  months  and  the  following  in  suc- 
cessive periods  of  12  months. 

Claimants  who  shall  enter  into  an  undertaking  under  the  con- 
ditions provided  for  by  articles  9,  44  and  45  of  the  present  statute 
to  resume  use  or  to  reinvest  their  indemnity  shall  be  paid  in  cash 
according  to  the  provisions  of  said  articles. 

Article  9.  The  claimant  shall  have  a  period  of  2  years  from 
the  decision  which  definitely  fixes  the  amount  of  indemnity  to 
which  he  is  entitled  within  which  to  consent  to  the  conditions  of 
resumption  of  use.  As  the  basis  of  his  undertaking  and  to  facili- 
tate calculations  of  the  amount  of  additional  expense  he  shall 
furnish  a  plan  of  the  work  to  be  done  and  an  estimate  of  the 
materials  required  to  carry  it  out. 

Article  10.  In  case  of  co-owners  of  property  if  the  majority 
in  number  and  value  declare  their  intention  of  resuming  use 
their  will  shall  prevail;  the  condition  of  undivided  ownership 
shall  then  be  prolonged  for  a  maximum  period  of  5  years  from 
the  reconstruction  of  the  thing  destroyed  at  the  request  of  the 
co-owners  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  resume  use.  In 
case  of  partition  resumption  of  use  shall  be  a  matter  of  right. 
[In  French  law  in  many  cases  property  owned  in  common  is  re- 
quired for  a  certain  period  or  under  certain  circumstances  to 
remain  in  a  condition  of  "  indivision. "  The  foregoing  paragraph 
provides  an  additional  case  in  which  partition  is  not  to  be  allowed. 
The  last  clause  forbids  restrictions  on  resumption  of  use  in  case 
of  partition.] 

21 


In  case  of  a  partnership  or  a  company  the  resumption  of  use 
shall  be  a  matter  of  right  if  it  is  decided  upon  under  the  condi- 
tions with  respect  to  pooling  provided  for  by  law. 

In  no  case  shall  the  duration  of  the  partnership  or  company 
be  modified  except  in  conformity  with  the  rules  provided  for  by 
law.  [In  other  words,  the  state  of  indivision  may  go  on  and  yet 
the  condition  of  partnership  may  come  to  an  end  unless  the  part- 
ners themselves  provide  otherwise  in  the  manner  provided  by 
law.] 

Resumption  of  use  shall  be  a  matter  of  right  whether  the  in- 
tention to  resume  is  declared  by  the  holder  of  the  bare  legal  title 
or  by  a  usufructuary  or  an  emphyteuticary  or  by  the  purchaser 
in  a  contract  for  sale.  [Nu  proprietaire,  bare  legal  owner,  refers 
to  one  who  has  simply  a  reversionary  right  after  the  usufruct  or 
emphyteusis.  Usufruct  is  more  or  less  equivalent  to  our  estate 
for  life  or  estate  for  years.  Emphyteusis  is  a  perpetual  lease — 
in  France,  however,  limited  now  to  99  years  and  is  very  like  the 
ground  rent  of  the  law  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.] 

During  the  duration  of  the  usufruct  or  emphyteuticary  lease, 
the  repayment  of  the  annual  instalments  due  to  the  state  under 
the  conditions  provided  for  by  paragraph  5  of  article  5  is  to  be 
charged,  one  half  to  the  holder  of  the  bare  legal  title,  and  one 
half  to  the  usufructuary  or  emphyteuticary. 

Creditors  who  have  liens  upon  the  land  by  way  of  mortgage 
or  otherwise  cannot  object  to  the  resumption  of  use  nor  exact  the 
payment  of  their  debts  in  money  except  at  the  expiration  of  the 
time  fixed  by  the  original  contract  with  deduction  without  ex- 
pense of  a  period  corresponding  to  the  interruption  of  enjoyment 
of  the  land. 

Creditors  having  liens  upon  the  property  by  way  of  mort- 
gage or  otherwise,  usufructuaries,  emphyteuticaries,  owners  of 
real  rights  of  use  or  habitation  and  purchasers  in  a  contract  of 
sale  shall  have  their  rights  in  the  reconstructed  property  fixed 
subject  to  the  lien  given  to  the  state  by  paagraph  7  of  article  5. 
[The  real  right  of  use  and  habitation  is  a  limited  usufruct,  it  is 
a  right  of  pure  personal  use  of  land  or  purely  personal  use  of  a 
building.  In  the  case  of  a  usufruct  the  usufructuary  may  assign 
his  right  to  enjoy  the  property  as  a  lessee  may  assign  his  lease 
in  our  law.     In  the  case  of  use  and  habitation  no  such  assign- 

22 


ment  can  be  made.  For  an  American  to  understand  this  provi- 
sion perhaps  it  would  be  enough  to  say,  creditors  who  have  liens, 
lessees  and  purchasers  in  land  contracts.] 

In  case  of  non-resumption  of  use  creditors  secured  by  liens, 
by  way  of  mortgage,  or  otherwise,  as  well  as  creditors  secured 
by  bonds  and  purchasers  under  contracts  of  sale,  may  be  subro- 
gated to  the  position  of  the  debtor  with  respect  to  the  rights 
given  to  the  latter  under  the  present  law,  for  the  purpose  of  se- 
buring  their  rights,  upon  obtaining  authorization  from  the  civil 
tribunal  given  by  the  court  in  banc  after  hearing  a  representative 
of  the  public  and  hearing  the  debtor  and  upon  subscribing  to 
the  conditions  of  resumption  of  use. 

Creditors  cannot  exercise  the  right  given  them  above  except 
within  two  months  from  default  by  the  debtor.  In  case  a  claim 
is  made  under  this  provision  the  persons  in  interest  shall  be  noti- 
fied by  the  clerk  of  the  cantonal  commission. 

In  case  of  non-resumption  of  use  the  indemnity  shall  belong 
to  lien  holders  by  mortgage  or  otherwise  in  their  order  and  to  pur- 
chasers in  contracts  of  sale  without  need  of  an  express  power  of 
attorney,  and  under  the  conditions  provided  for  in  article  43. 

Objections  to  payment  shall  be  drawn  up  and  assignments 
and  powers  of  attorney  with  respect  to  indemnities  shall  be  ac- 
knowledged before  the  treasurers  and  receivers  of  public  monies 
of  the  departments  within  a  month  following  the  final  ascertain- 
ment of  the  indemnity.  Within  eight  days  under  penalty  of  be- 
ing void  otherwise  they  shall  be  entered  upon  a  registry  kept  by 
the  clerk  of  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  the  damage  caused  by 
the  war.  After  this  period  has  elapsed  payments  shall  be  valid. 
[In  each  department  of  France  there  is  an  official  administrative 
officer  called  the  tresorier-payeur  general.  He  has  not  only 
the  duties  of  treasurer  but  to  some  extent  those  of  auditor  and 
certain  magisterial  administrative  functions  also.] 

In  case  of  a  usufruct  it  will  be  noted  in  registering  the  bond 
delivered  to  the  claimant.  [In  other  words,  if  the  claimant  has  a 
usufruct  for  life  and  so  would  be  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  prop- 
erty for  life  the  bond  delivered  to  him  will  have  a  note  upon  it 
and  there  will  be  a  note  also  in  the  registry  that  he  is  the  usu- 
fructuary so  at  his  death  the  owner  may  claim  the  principal  and 
the  income  remaining  unpaid.] 

If  the  land  is  subject  to  rights  of  use  or  habitation  or  to  ease- 


ments  the  indemnity  is  to  be  divided  between  the  owner  and  the 
holders  of  these  rights  according  to  the  value  of  their  respective 
rights  in  proportion  and  upon  conditions  established  by  the  ad- 
ministrative officers  in  charge  of  registration  of  rights  upon  suc- 
cesson  to  property.  [That  is,  the  administrative  rules  estab- 
lished in  case  of  succession  to  estates  shall  govern  in  this  respect 
also.  Succession  in  the  French  law  involves  both  succession  by 
will  and  succession  upon  intestacy.] 

Article  11.  In  case  the  person  immediately  entitled  under 
this  statute  does  not  resume  the  use  of  the  property,  interested 
owners  may  form  associations  under  the  forms  and  conditions 
fixed  by  the  statutes  of  June  21,  1865,  and  December  22,  1888,  to 
carry  on  works  of  collective  utility.  In  case  the  commune  is  not 
one  of  the  owners  presumed  to  be  interested  the  Mayor  may 
nevertheless  take  part  in  the  meeting  of  the  association  but  sim- 
ply in  an  advisory  capacity. 

[The  French  law  authorizes  all  manner  of  ^'associations  syn- 
dicales'' — that  is  associations  of  persons  who  act  through  agents. 
These  associations  may  be  entered  into  for  all  kinds  of  purposes 
varying  from  churches  to  trade  unions  and  bar  associations.] 

Article  12.  In  case  of  civil  buildings  or  church  buildings 
the  indemnity  shall  consist  of  the  amount  necessary  to  rebuild 
an  edifice  of  the  same  sort  with  the  same  importance  for  the  same 
purpose  and  with  the  same  permanence  as  the  building  destroyed. 

[Civil  buildings  means  buildings  existing  for  general  public 
purposes  like  academies  of  science,  natural  history  societies  and 
the  sort.] 

On  the  request  of  persons  interested  or  on  its  own  motion  the 
special  commission  hereinafter  constituted  shall  determine  the 
importance  of  the  building  and  the  guaranties  of  its  permanence. 

In  case  of  dispute  this  shall  be  determined  by  the  tribunal 
for  ascertaining  the  damages  caused  by  the  war. 

The  minister  of  public  instruction  and  of  the  fine  arts  shall 
order,  after  obtaining  a  favorable  opinion  from  the  Commission, 
with  respect  to  the  preservation  and  consolidation  of  ruins  and 
•with  respect  to  rebuilding  and  putting  in  their  former  condition 
monuments  of  historical  or  artistic  value.  Subventions  for  this 
purpose  shall  be  provided  for  in  the  budget  of  the  minister  of 
public  instruction  and  of  fine  arts. 

24 


If  reconstruction  is  not  authorized  the  indemnity  shall  include 
the  amount  necessary  for  the  acquisition  of  new  land. 

The  Commission  above  referred  to  shall  be  composed  of  two 
senators  elected  by  the  Senate,  of  three  deputies  elected  by  the 
Chamber,  of  two  members  of  the  French  Academy,  of  two  mem- 
bers of  the  council  of  instruction  and  belles  lettres  and  two  mem- 
bers of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  appointed  by  their  associates, 
of  a  member  of  the  Superior  Council  of  Fine  Arts,  of  a  member 
of  the  General  Council  of  Civil  Buildings,  of  two  members  of  the 
Commission  on  Historical  Monuments  elected  by  their  colleagues, 
of  a  representative  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  and 
Fine  Arts,  of  a  representative  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  of  a 
representative  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  of  a  representative 
of  the  Minister  of  Labor,  of  a  representative  of  the  minister 
charged  with  the  reconstruction  of  liberated  regions  of  a  repre- 
sentative of  each  religious  denomination  interested  in  the  rebuild- 
ing of  buildings,  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  and  of  six  artists  appointed  by  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Instruction  and  Fine  Arts. 

After  a  month  from  the  promulgation  of  the  present  statute 
a  regulation  of  public  administration  shall  determine  the  mode 
of  procedure  and  the  duties  of  this  Commission  and  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  consult  the  municipal  councils 
and  communities  which  are  interested. 

Article  13.  Damage  done  to  movables  shall  be  repaired  to 
the  extent  of  the  loss  undergone  appraised  as  of  date  of  June 
30,  1914,  with  respect  to  movables  other  than  agricultural  prod- 
ucts and  with  respect  to  the  latter  as  of  the  date  of  harvest.  In 
each  case  with  respect  to  movables  purchased  or  produced  after 
June  30,  1914,  the  appraisement  of  loss  undergone  shall  be  made 
according  to  the  purchase  price  or  the  cost  of  production  if  they 
can  be  established. 

Movable  goods  of  no  industrial,  commercial,  agricultural,  pro- 
fessional, or  domestic  utility,  cannot  in  any  case  be  given  a  higher 
value  than  the  value  attributed  to  them  in  the  contracts  of  sale 
or  inventories,  declarations  of  succession  or  other  instruments  in 
which  they  have  been  appraised  provided  that  these  instruments 
are  not  more  than  10  years  old.  In  default  of  such  instrument 
the  appraisement  shall  be  made  in  conformity  with  the  first 
paragraph.     [The  French  law  requires  an  heir,  a  donee,  or  a 

25 


legatee  to  sign  a  declaration  setting  forth  all  the  property  which 
has  come  to  him  by  way  of  succession.  Even  if  the  succession 
does  not  include  a  single  article  nevertheless  he  is  required  to 
subscribe  to  what  is  called  a  negative  declaration.  In  other 
words,  instead  of  the  inventory  of  the  estate  by  an  executor  or 
administrator  as  in  our  law  the  successor  testamentary  or  on 
intestacy  makes  out  such  an  inventory  himself.] 

The  indemnity  provided  for  reparation  of  damages  done  to 
raw  materials  or  to  industrial  stocks  shall  be  paid  in  the  manner 
provided  by  article  8  whenever  the  claimant,  if  he  has  under- 
gone damage  to  land,  has  not  consented  to  conditions  of  resuming 
use  and  whenever  resumption  of  use  has  not  been  prohibited. 

An  allowance  for  additional  expense  to  the  extent  of  the  dif- 
ference between  the  loss  undergone  and  the  value  of  replacing 
(to  be  reckoned  by  taking  account  either  of  the  cost  of  replacing 
if  the  article  has  been  replaced,  or  the  value  of  an  article  neces- 
sary to  replace  it  at  the  date  of  appraisement  if  replacement  has 
not  yet  taken  place)  shall  also  be  awarded  in  case  of  movables 
comprised  in  the  following  categories : 

1.  Raw  materials  and  stocks  indispensable  for  an  industrial 
enterprise  to  the  extent  of  the  amount  necessary  to  resume  the 
ordinary  course  of  manufacture  for  a  period  of  three  months 
as  well  as  manufactured  products  in  course  of  manufacture  and 
property  suitable  for  the  exercise  of  a  profession; 

2.  In  case  of  land  used  for  agriculture,  animals,  so  far  as 
they  are  not  considered  immovable  by  destination,  as  well  as 
manure,  seed,  harvested  crops  and  different  products  necessary 
for  resuming  cultivation,  for  fertilizing  land  and  for  feeding 
stock  until  the  next  harvest.  [As  to  immovables  by  destination 
see  the  explanation  in  connection  with  the  provisions  of  article 
2,  par.  3.] 

3.  Implements  or  apparatus  serving  for  use  of  land,  in  com- 
merce, or  the  exercise  of  a  profession,  as  well  as  the  goods  and 
merchandise  necessary  to  ensure  the  carrying  on  of  commerce 
or  industry  for  a  period  of  three  months ; 

4.  Furniture,  household  goods,  bedding,  linen,  personal  ef- 
fects ;  ornaments  the  value  whereof  in  each  case  shall  not  exceed 
3,000  frs.  at  the  date  of  the  declaration  of  war. 

Article  14.  Damage  due  to  the  destruction  of  bonds  or  cou- 

26 


pons  of  the  French  government  shall  be  repaired  by  awarding 
bonds  or  coupons  of  the  same  nature  in  their  place.  In  case  of 
French  bonds  or  coupons  other  than  those  issued  by  the  state, 
or  of  foreign  bonds  or  coupons  the  restoration  whereof  cannot  be 
Obtained  in  France  by  legal  means,  the  damage  shall  be  repaired 
to  the  extent  of  the  loss  undergone  appraised  as  of  the  last 
quoted  market  price  before  the  date  of  fixing  the  indemnity 
or  in  default  of  market  quotation  by  a  government  appraise- 
ment, the  French  government  being  subrogated  to  the  rights  of 
the  claimant  in  order  to  seek  restitution  of  the  bonds  and  coupons 
and  preserving  in  every  case  the  power  of  releasing  itself  by 
delivering  bonds  or  coupons  of  the  same  nature. 

Article  15,  Immediate,  direct  and  certain  damages  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  war  suffered  by  public  officers  and  administrative  em- 
ployees shall  be  repaired  to  the  extent  of  the  loss  undergone 
measured  by  the  difference  between  the  value  of  the  office  at  the 
date  of  mobilization  and  its  value  at  the  date  of  appraisement. 

The  claims  shall  be  presented  within  two  years  after  the  date 
of  cessation  of  hostilities  fixed  by  proclamation. 

The  appraisement  shall  be  made  by  the  tribunal  for  ascertain- 
ing the  damages  caused  by  war  upon  advice  of  the  chamber  of  ad- 
ministrative or  professional  discipline,  and  of  a  court  of  appeal 
or  civil  tribunal. 

The  state  shall  recover  the  sums  paid  out  in  reparation  of 
damage  caused  to  offices  by  a  deduction  of  half  of  the  excess 
value  established  by  an  appraisement  made  ten  years  later  over 
the  value  fixed  by  the  appraisement  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing the  damage. 

The  recovery  provided  for  in  the  preceding  paragraph  shall 
take  effect  at  the  time  of  the  transfer  following  the  decennial  ap- 
praisement; but  it  shall  bear  interest  at  the  legal  rate  which 
shall  obtain  at  the  time  of  the  latter  appraisement  and  shall  be 
payable  annually. 

If  in  any  case  no  transfer  of  the  office  takes  place  at  the  latest 
within  five  years  following  the  decennial  appraisement  the  re- 
payments of  excess  value  shall  take  place  in  annual  instalments 
of  one-fiLfth,  of  which  the  first  shall  be  due  six  months  after  the 
expiration  of  the  five  years  without  prejudice  to  an  immediate 

27 


exaction  of  the  whole  in  case  of  a  transfer  before  the  whole  has 
been  paid. 

During  the  same  period  of  two  years  an  administrative  officer 
who  has  been  seriously  injured  may  request  the  abolition  of  his 
office ;  also  the  administrative  chancellery  may  abolish  any  minis- 
terial office  which  has  been  the  subject  of  a  claim  of  indemnity  at 
the  request  of  a  public  ministry  after  taking  the  opinion  in  each 
case  of  the  chamber  of  administrative  or  professional  discipline 
and  of  the  court  of  appeal  or  of  the  tribunal  having  to  do  with 
such  cases,  the  court  in  each  case  sitting  in  banc. 

The  person  entitled  to  the  office  suppressed  or  those  succeed- 
ing to  his  rights  shall  receive  the  value  of  the  office  at  the  date  of 
mobilization  ascertained  by  the  chancellery  by  reckoning  the 
present  worth  at  the  rate  of  interest  current  at  the  time  of  decla- 
ration of  war  on  the  mean  revenue  of  the  office  during  the  five 
years  preceding  mobilization. 

In  case  of  suppression  of  an  office  the  indemnity  paid  by  the 
state  shall  in  whole  or  in  part  be  charged  by  a  decision  of  the 
custodian  of  the  seals  to  the  ministerial  officers  benefited  thereby 
in  the  proportion  indicated  by  the  court  or  the  tribunal  with  the 
advice  of  the  chamber  of  administrative  and  professional  disci- 
pline and  after  the  comparative  value  before  and  after  the  war 
of  the  offices  charged  with  this  repayment  shall  have  been  estab- 
lished. 

The  recovery  of  sums  charged  to  ministerial  officers  benefited 
by  suppression  of  an  office  shall  not  exceed  half  of  the  excess 
value  of  their  office. 

This  recovery  shall  be  had  according  to  the  methods  pre- 
scribed by  the  4th,  5th  and  6th  paragraphs  of  the  present  article. 

The  decennial  appraisements  shall  be  made  by  a  commission 
composed  of  a  judge  of  the  court  of  appeal,  or  a  presiding  mem- 
ber of  the  civil  tribunal  designated  by  the  first  president  of  the 
court  of  appeal  and  by  an  administrative  officer  of  the  depart- 
ment of  direct  taxation,  an  administrative  officer  of  the  enrolling 
department  appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  two  members 
of  the  chamber  of  administrative  and  professional  discipline,  if 
there  is  one,  to  be  designated  by  the  court  or  the  tribunal.  There 
shall  be  added  to  this  commission  as  secretary  a  clerk  chosen  from 
among  those  exercising  the  office  who  have  held  such  office  for 
iJen  years. 

28 


All  claims  of  the  state  for  recovery  of  excess  values  of  offices 
shall  be  secured  by  a  special  lien.  This  lien  shall  be  registered 
upon  a  special  registry  kept  by  the  Bureau  of  Ministerial  Offices 
in  the  Ministry  of  Justice. 

In  case  of  suppression  of  the  office  of  a  notary  no  account  shall 
be  taken  of  the  provision  of  article  32  of  the  law  of  25  Ventose, 
year  XI.  A  decree  shall  indicate  the  notaries  who  shall  have  the 
right  to  officiate  in  all  the  cantons  in  which  the  notarial  office  has 
been  suppressed. 

[In  explanation  of  this  article  it  should  be  noted  that  in 
France  clerks,  notaries  and  other  administrative  officers  in  the 
judicial  and  executive  departments  have  to  undergo  a  special 
training  somewhat  analogous  to  the  education  required  by  us  for 
admission  to  the  bar.  Having  prepared  specially  for  these  posi- 
tions and  been  appointed  to  the  positions  for  which  they  have  pre- 
pared themselves,  the  incumbents  are  thought  of  as  having  a  prop- 
erty in  their  offices.  Thus  a  notary  with  respect  to  his  office  is 
thought  of  very  much  as  we  should  think  of  a  member  of  the  bar 
who  has  an  established  local  practice,  or  a  physician  who  has  an 
established  local  practice.  The  "chambers  of  administrative  and 
professional  discipline"  referred  to  might  perhaps  be  put  better 
*  *  committees  of  administrative  or  professional  discipline. ' '  These 
chambers  are  very  like  the  grievance  committees  of  an  American 
Bar  Association,  only  they  have  an  official  status  whereas  with  us 
such  committees  have  no  legal  powers.] 

Article  16.  The  provisions  of  article  10  with  respect  to 
preservation  of  real  rights  shaU  apply  also  to  movables  whether 
objects  of  replacement  or  the  indemnity  awarded  in  their  place. 

Abticle  17.  When  measures  have  been  taken  to  avoid  or  pre- 
vent damage  whether  in  case  of  land  or  movables  or  to  prevent 
aggravation  of  damage,  an  indemnity  shall  be  awarded  to  reim- 
burse justifiable  expense  in  so  doing. 

Article  18.  Indemnities  awarded  under  the  provisions  of  this 
title  shall  not  be  added  to  any  other  indemnity  received  by  rea- 
son of  the  same  facts  except  in  case  of  sums  which  the  French 
state  may  have  recovered  from  the  enemy  by  virtue  of  conven- 
tions or  treaties  with  respect  to  damages  of  every  sort  which  are 
not  provided  for  or  are  only  partially  provided  for  by  the  pres- 
ent statute. 

29 


The  sums  awarded  for  the  construction  of  temporary  shelters 
for  persons,  animals,  or  property  shall  not  be  deducted  in  reckon- 
ing indemnity. 

In  case  the  claimant  has  taken  out  insurance  against  the  risks 
of  war  the  indemnity  shall  be  reckoned  by  deducting  sums  due 
from  the  insurer  but  account  shall  be  taken  of  premiums  paid. 
An  insurance  company  shall  not  in  any  case  have  recourse  against 
the  state. 

Article  19.  For  the  purpose  of  a  provisional  building  and 
under  the  conditions  in  the  present  statute  the  claimant  may  ob- 
tain an  allowance  not  exceeding  one-third  of  the  indemnity.  In 
that  case  the  treasurer  shall  capitalize  the  remainder  of  the  in- 
demnity at  5  per  cent,  from  the  initial  credit  at  the  request  of 
the  person  interested  and  the  sum  so  obtained  shall  be  turned 
over  to  the  claimant  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  present 
statute  as  to  payment  upon  condition  of  erection  of  the  buildings. 


TITLE  III.    Jurisdiction. 

Article  20.  Damages  within  the  purview  of  the  present  stat- 
ute shall  be  approved  and  appraised  by  cantonal  commissions  for 
this  purpose  formed  in  accordance  with  the  following  provisions : 

In  each  department  interested,  decisions  of  the  prefect  shall 
fix :  the  period  within  which  cantonal  commissions  shall  be  estab- 
lished, the  number  of  these  commissions  for  each  canton,  the  seat 
of  office  and  jurisdiction  of  each  one  of  them,  and  the  date  from 
which  each  shall  begin  its  functions. 

If  the  situation  or  condition  of  certain  communes  so  demands 
the  seat  of  office  of  a  commission  may  be  fixed  in  a  commune  of 
a  neighboring  department  by  a  decision  of  the  ministry  of  lib- 
erated regions. 

When  the  place  where  the  damage  has  taken  place  is  not 
known,  and  when  for  other  reasons  it  is  not  possible  to  proceed 
to  prove  the  damage  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  cantonal  com- 
mission already  constituted,  the  proof  and  appraisement  of  the 
damage  shall  be  made  by  a  special  commission  the  composition 
whereof  shall  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  cantonal  commissions 
which  have  their  seat  of  office  at  Paris. 

The  tribunal  for  establishing  damages  caused  by  war  in  the 

30 


Department  of  the  Seine  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  pass  upon  ap- 
peals taken  from  decisions  of  these  commissions. 

If  the  subject  of  the  damage  extends  over  several  cantons 
jurisdiction  shall  belong  to  the  commission  of  the  canton  in  which 
the  principal  portion  of  the  damage  took  place. 

A  special  commission  having  its  seat  in  Paris  in  the  ministry 
of  public  works  is  established  for  the  ascertainment  and  appraise- 
ment of  damage  caused  by  war  to  ferries  and  towing  and  water 
transportation  enterprises.  If  the  place  of  damage  is  known  and 
the  damage  can  be  proved  the  cantonal  commission  in  the  place 
where  the  damage  took  place  shall  proceed  to  take  the  proof  in 
the  presence  of  the  person  interested  if  he  shall  so  request.  A 
transcript  of  the  proof  shall  be  drawn  up  and  this  transcript  shall 
be  transmitted  within  8  days  to  the  president  of  the  special  com- 
mission charged  with  appraising  the  damage.  Appeals  from  de- 
cisions of  this  special  commission  shall  be  brought  before  the 
tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  the  war  in  the  De- 
partment of  the  Seine. 

Article  21.  The  cantonal  commission  shall  be  composed  of 
five  members : 

One,  a  president  chosen  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  of 
appeal  by  the  presiding  judge  thereof,  or  in  default  of  such  ap- 
pointment outside  of  the  jurisdiction  by  the  minister  of  justice 
from  among  the  judges  of  civil  tribunals  or  justices  of  the  peace 
or  former  magistrates  of  civil  tribunals  or  tribunals  of  commerce 
who  have  served  ten  years  or  more,  advocates  who  have  been  in 
practice  at  least  ten  years,  retired  solicitors  and  retired  notaries 
who  have  served  as  such  for  the  same  period  of  time,  or  have 
exercised  continuously  for  ten  years  the  profession  of  advocate, 
or  administrative  officer  or  magisterial  functions;  second,  a  rep- 
resentative designated  by  the  ministers  of  finance  and  of  liber- 
ated regions ;  third,  an  architect,  contractor  or  engineer ;  fourth, 
an  official  appraiser,  clerk  or  retired  clerk,  dealer  in  furniture, 
or  other  person  having  special  competence  for  valuing  furniture 
and  movable  property ;  fifth,  a  farmer,  person  engaged  in  indus- 
try or  merchant  or  craftsman,  according  to  the  case  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  damages  to  be  appraised. 

The  members  of  the  commission  other  than  the  president  and 
the  representative  of  the  minister  of  finance  shall  be  designated 

31 


by  the  civil  tribunal  sitting  in  banc  which  shall  designate  at  the 
same  time  one  or  more  alternates  in  each  category. 

The  tribunal  shall  name  as  clerk  for  each  commission  a  sec- 
retary chosen  from  among  the  clerks  of  court  or  retired  clerks 
of  court,  city  clerks  or  retired  city  clerks,  or  in  default  thereof, 
other  persons  who  may  appear  qualified. 

The  commission  can  make  no  valid  decision  unless  the  presi- 
dent and  three  regular  members  or  alternates  are  present  at  the 
sitting. 

Article  22.  In  case  of  damages  to  mining  enterprises  or 
quarries,  to  woods  and  forests,  or  to  fish  ponds,  the  commission 
shall  be  composed  as  follows :  A  president  chosen  in  accordance 
with  the  preceding  article,  a  representative  of  the  minister  of 
finance,  two  members  chosen  by  lot  from  persons  engaged  in 
mining,  in  forestry,  or  in  the  management  of  fish  ponds,  and  an 
agent  of  the  department  of  public  works,  or  the  department  of 
waters  and  ferries  designated  by  the  ministers  interested,  and  an 
additional  member  according  to  the  nature  of  the  damages  to  be 
appraised. 

In  case  of  damage  to  ferries,  water  transportation  and  towing 
enterprises,  the  commission  shall  be  composed  as  follows:  A 
president  designated  by  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court  at  Paris 
according  to  the  preceding  article,  a  representative  of  the  minis- 
ter of  finance,  a  representative  of  the  minister  of  public  works,  a 
shipbuilder  or  a  boatman.  The  two  last  members  shall  be  desig- 
nated by  the  advisory  committee  of  internal  navigation  which 
shall  at  the  same  time  appoint  one  or  more  alternates  in  each 
category. 

Article  23.  A  technical  committee  is  hereby  constituted  in 
each  department  to  draw  up  or  cause  to  be  drawn  up  by  compe- 
tent persons  or  associations  tables  of  prices  with  respect  to  mov- 
ables in  order  to  facilitate  calculations  of  loss  undergone  and 
calculations  of  additional  expense  of  reconstruction  and  replace- 
ment values. 

This  committee  shall  be  organized  under  the  direction  of  the 
prefect  at  least  a  month  before  the  organization  of  each  cantonal 
commission.  It  shall  include  besides  the  prefect  or  his  represen- 
tative a  representative  of  the  minister  of  public  works,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  minister  of  liberated  regions,  the  presidents  and 

32 


vice-presidents  of  commercial  tribunals  and  chambers  of  com- 
merce, of  agricultural  societies  and  committees,  and  of  the  coun- 
cils of  experts  within  the  department ;  a  member  of  the  depart- 
mental council  of  civil  buildings  designated  by  this  council,  and 
a  member  of  each  one  of  the  societies  of  architects  and  of  engi- 
neers existing  in  the  department 

The  tables  of  prices  shall  be  put  at  the  disposition  of  the  com- 
missions of  appraisement  and  of  tribunals  having  jurisdiction 
with  respect  thereto  to  be  used  by  them  in  appraising  damages 
and  fixing  indemnities. 

Article  24.  After  the  publication  of  the  decision  of  the  pre- 
fect proclaiming  that  commissions  have  entered  upon  their  func- 
tions persons  interested  may  file  their  claims  and  documents  in 
support  thereof  with  the  clerk  of  the  cantonal  commission  hav- 
ing jurisdiction  and  he  shall  deliver  receipts  therefor. 

Claimants  may  also  file  their  claims  in  the  office  of  the  Mayor, 
in  the  office  of  the  prefect  or  deputy  prefect  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment  where  the  damage  took  place.  In  such  case  the  documents 
shall  be  examined  in  the  office  of  the  prefect  and  transmitted 
with  an  opinion  on  the  case  to  the  clerk  of  the  cantonal  commis- 
sion within  15  days. 

The  claimants  shall  indicate,  if  there  are  such,  the  names  and 
residences  of  creditors,  mortgagees,  lien  holders,  persons  having 
rights  of  use  and  habitation,  and  persons  entitled  to  easements  in 
the  property  damaged  as  well  as  purchasers  in  contracts  for  the 
sale  thereof. 

These  creditors  shall  be  informed  of  the  claim  by  the  clerk 
and  shall  be  permitted  to  present  their  case  before  the  cantonal 
commission  and  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by 
the  war  within  15  days  from  notice. 

In  case  of  property  belonging  to  communes,  if  the  Mayor 
does  not  act  within  three  months  any  listed  taxpayer  in  the  com- 
mune may  make  a  claim  for  reparation  of  the  damage  done  to 
the  property  of  the  commune. 

Article  25.  In  cases  in  which  married  women,  persons  under 
disability,  or  non-residents  are  interested,  and  generally  in  every 
case  where  the  law  provides  for  administration  of  property  by  a 
guardian,  receiver  or  sequestrator,  as  well  as  in  all  cases  of  suc- 
cession, the  exercise  of  the  rights  and  prosecution  of  the  actions 

33 


provided  for  by  the  present  law  shall  be  governed  by  the  genera' 
rules  of  law  subject  to  the  exceptions  hereinafter  set  forth : 

1.  Guardians  of  minors  and  interdicted  lunatics  and  prodi- 
gals, and  guardians  of  the  property  of  emancipated  minors  shall 
only  be  required  to  produce  before  the  competent  tribunal  a 
statement  of  the  family  council  of  the  person  under  disability 
stating  the  reasons  thereof.  [That  is,  such  a  statement  from  the 
family  council  of  the  incapacitated  persons  shall  be  sufficient  to 
show  the  power  of  the  representative  to  act  in  the  premises.  The 
family  council  is  an  institution  entirely  unknown  to  our  law.  If 
is  a  sort  of  domestic  tribunal  made  up  of  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  six  near  relatives  of  the  incapacitated  person,  which  must  be 
consulted  in  all  matters  of  guardianship  and  the  like.] 

2.  Proof  before  the  competent  tribunal  that  it  is  impossible 
for  the  husband  to  assist  his  wife,  or  that  he  refuses  to  do  so, 
shall  make  the  tribunal  competent  even  with  respect  to  dowry  or 
community  property  for  all  proceedings  herein  provided  for,  as 
well  as  for  the  carrying  out  of  its  decisions.  [In  French  law  the 
disabilities  of  married  women  are  still  considerable.  Also  under 
the  French  matrimonial  property  regime  community  property  is 
thought  of  as  property  of  the  husband  and  wife,  as  a  sort  of  col- 
lectivity, administered,  however,  by  the  husband.  It  is  almost 
as  if  husband  and  wife  were  a  corporation  owning  the  community 
property  and  the  husband  was  in  the  position  of  the  directors  of 
the  corporation.] 

In  each  case  the  proceedings  had  must  respect  the  marital 
usufruct  of  the  husband  resulting  from  the  matrimonial  regime. 
[This  is  a  very  free  translation  to  bring  out  the  idea.  In  French 
law  the  husband  has  a  right  of  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  property 
under  the  matrimonial  regime  and  this  right  is  protected  by  the 
present  clause.] 

3.  Persons  charged  by  law  or  judicial  appointment  with  the 
administration  of  the  property  of  others,  such  as  fathers  with 
respect  to  the  property  of  children,  receivers  or  curators  of  the 
property  of  absent  persons,  as  well  as  persons  entitled  to  the 
property  of  inheritances  shall  be  relieved  from  the  requirement 
of  making  formal  proofs  of  their  authority  to  act.  [Heriter  bene- 
ficiaire  is  not  easy  to  translate.  In  the  French  law  the  estate  of 
a  deceased  person  devolves  upon  an  heir  or  heirs  who  may  be 
charged  with  the  payment  of  legacies  or  with  holding  the  whole 

34 


estate  for,  or  turning  it  over  to,  a  beneficiary  of  the  inheritance. 
In  such  case  the  situation  is  very  like  that  of  the  residuary  lega- 
tee who  takes  an  estate  charged  with  payment  of  legacies  in  our 
law.] 

In  cases  within  the  purview  of  the  third  paragraph  preceding 
as  well  as  in  case  of  damage  done  to  inalienable  settled  property, 
even  if  the  wife  is  authorized  to  act  by  her  husband,  the  decision 
of  the  commissions  having  jurisdiction  shall  always  be  submitted 
to  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war  which 
shall  make  a  decsion.  [In  French  law  a  wife  cannot  act  without 
a  formal  instrument  of  authority  from  the  husband.  The  phrase 
translated  inalienable  settled  property  is  bien  dotal  inalienable. 
Its  nearest  equivalent  in  our  law  is  property  settled  upon  the  wife 
by  a  marriage  settlement  with  provisions  against  alienation.] 

Article  26.  If  the  person  injured  shows  that  he  is  not  in  a 
position  to  proceed  to  an  appraisement  except  as  to  part  of  the 
damage  to  his  property  the  commission  having  jurisdiction  may 
at  his  request  adjourn  the  proceeding  or  it  may  proceed  to  a  par- 
tial proof  and  appraisement. 

Article  27.  The  clerk  shall  summon  the  parties.  He  shall 
give  notice  of  this  summons  to  creditors,  mortgagees,  lien  hold- 
ers, holders  of  rights  of  use  and  habitation  and  of  easements  as 
well  as  to  purchasers  in  contracts  of  sale,  in  each  case  by  regis- 
tered letter  with  requirement  of  receipt.  The  state  is  to  be  sum- 
moned through  the  prefect  or  his  representative. 

The  president  of  the  commission  shall  have  power  to  put  the 
papers  in  proper  form. 

The  commission  shall  hear  the  parties  and  all  others  interest- 
ed. It  may  also  hear  persons  especially  competent  to  appraise 
particular  forms  of  damage,  and  may  order  such  expert  examina- 
tions and  means  of  informing  itself  as  may  seem  expedient.  It 
may  take  a  view  of  the  place  and  for  this  purpose  may  depute 
two  or  more  of  its  members. 

The  parties  may  be  assisted  or  represented  by  a  member  of 
their  household,  a  parent  or  a  relative,  or  by  a  member  of  the 
bar,  or  administrative  officer. 

The  dispositions  of  article  269  of  the  statute  of  July  12,  1905, 
and  article  96  of  the  statute  of  July  13,  1911,  are  applicable  to 
the  present  statute. 

35 


[These  provisions  provide  for  hearing  and  representation  be- 
fore administrative  commissions.] 

Article  28.  The  commission  shall  endeavor  to  bring  the  par- 
ties to  an  agreement,  shall  attest  the  settlement  they  may  make 
if  any,  and  shall  decide  whether  such  settlement  ought  to  be 
judicially  confirmed  and  recorded.  In  that  case  the  settlement 
shaU  be  final ;  a  record  setting  forth  the  grounds  thereof  is  to  be 
drawn  up  and  the  appraisement  shall  be  conclusive. 

If  a  settlement  is  not  arrived  at  the  commission  shall  draw 
up  a  statement  of  the  claims  and  contentions  of  the  parties  and 
the  points  on  which  they  are  at  disagreement.  It  shall  take 
proof  of  the  existence  and  importance  of  the  items  of  damage  by 
categories  in  accordance  with  article  2  of  the  present  statute  and 
make  a  distinct  appraisement  of  each  of  the  elements  going  to 
make  up  the  damage. 

The  clerk  shall  send  to  the  parties  by  registered  letter  with 
requirement  of  receipt  a  summary  statement  of  the  decisions  of 
the  commission,  and  at  the  same  time  shall  warn  them  that  they 
have  a  period  of  one  month  from  the  receipt  of  the  notice  to  file 
their  documents  with  the  clerk  of  the  appellate  tribunal  and 
carry  their  contentions  if  they  desire  to  the  tribunal  for  ascer- 
taining damages  caused  by  war. 

The  latter  tribunal  shall  acquire  jurisdiction  by  a  statement 
signed  by  the  parties,  or  their  agent  with  special  power  of  attor- 
ney, entered  upon  a  register  kept  by  the  clerk  of  the  tribunal  who 
shall  deliver  a  receipt  for  the  statement. 

The  record  of  the  cantonal  commission,  the  written  proofs 
and  aU  the  documents  shall  then  be  transmitted  by  the  clerk  of 
the  commission  to  the  clerk  of  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  dam- 
age caused  by  war. 

Article  29.  At  the  seat  of  government  of  each  of  the  arron- 
dissements  in  which  cantonal  commissions  have  been  established 
a  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war  is  temporarily 
established. 

If  such  a  tribunal  cannot  be  established  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  an  arrondissement  under  the  circumstances  it  shall  be 
provisionally  set  up  in  a  neighboring  arrondissement. 

The  tribunal  shall  be  divided  into  as  many  divisions  as  its 
needs  may  require.    Its  business  shall  be  distributed  between  the 


divisions  by  the  president  of  the  first  division ;  so  far  as  possible 
eases  from  the  same  canton  are  to  be  referred  to  the  same  divi- 
sion. 

Each  division  of  the  tribunal  shall  be  made  up  of:  first,  a 
president  designated  by  oflScial  decree  at  the  instance  of  the 
minister  of  justice  from  among  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  ap- 
peal and  tribunals  of  first  instance ; 

2.  Of  two  members  and  two  alternates  designated  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  president  and  chosen  from  among  the  judges 
of  the  courts  of  appeal  and  judges  of  the  tribunals  of  first  in- 
stance and  prefectural  councils,  former  presidents  of  the  order 
of  advocates,  professors  of  the  faculties  of  law,  former  presidents 
of  the  order  of  advocates  before  the  council  of  state  and  the  court 
of  cassation,  former  presidents  of  the  society  of  solicitors  and 
notaries; 

3.  Of  two  members  and  two  alternates  chosen  by  lot  at  the 
beginning  of  each  session  of  two  months  from  a  list  of  20  mem- 
bers designated  by  the  general  council. 

The  tribunal  can  make  no  valid  decision  unless  three  members 
are  present  including  the  president. 

The  tribunal  shall  be  assisted  by  a  clerk  named  by  an  order 
of  the  minister  of  justice. 

Article  30.  The  tribunal  shall  decide  as  to  the  reality  and 
importance  of  the  damage  claimed,  by  separate  decision  with 
respect  to  each  category  according  to  article  2  of  the  present 
statute,  and  with  a  distinct  appraisement  with  respect  to  each  of 
the  elements  of  damage. 

It  shall  pass  upon  all  questions  connected  therewith  and  fix 
definitely  the  amount  of  indemnities. 

If  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  present  statute  and  by  the  de- 
crees and  administrative  decisions  rendered  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  it  into  execution  have  not  been  observed  it  may  set 
aside  irregular  proceedings  either  on  its  own  motion  or  at  the 
request  of  interested  parties.  If  a  judgment  setting  aside  a  pro- 
ceeding is  pronounced  the  tribunal  may  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  the  state  of  the  record  remit  the  case  to  the  cantonal 
commission  or  proceed  itself  to  appraisal  of  damages  and  ascer- 
tainment of  the  indemnity.  The  tribunal  shall  decide  upon  writ- 
ten arguments  and  summarily  upon  report  by  one  of  the  judges. 

37 


The  parties  may  at  their  request  make  brief  oral  arguments  or 
have  such  arguments  made  for  them  by  a  member  of  their  house- 
hold, a  parent  or  relative,  by  a  practising  advocate,  by  an  ad- 
ministrative officer  within  his  jurisdiction  or  by  the  representa- 
tive of  a  regularly  organized  association  of  claimants. 

The  report  shall  be  read  and  the  judgment  pronounced  at  a 
public  sitting. 

Article  31.  Allowances  to  members  of  the  cantonal  com- 
missions and  the  tribunals  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by 
war,  as  well  as  their  clerks  shall  be  fixed  by  a  decision  agreed  to 
by  the  minister  of  justice,  the  minister  of  finance,  and  the  minis- 
ter of  liberated  regions. 

Article  32.  Every  mode  of  proof  even  by  simple  presump- 
tions shall  be  admissible  to  establish  the  reality  and  importance 
of  damages  of  whatever  nature  within  the  purview  of  the  present 
law. 

Parents  and  domestic  servants  may  be  heard  as  witnesses. 

The  cantonal  commission  and  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining 
damage  caused  by  war  may  order  the  production  of  transcripts 
of  records,  attested  copies  of  deeds,  copies  of  private  or  public 
documents,  of  books  of  account,  and  in  general  of  all  documents 
and  instruments  relevant  to  proof  and  appraisal  of  the  damage. 

They  shall  fix  the  period  within  which  inquiries,  expert  ex- 
aminations and  other  modes  of  obtaining  information  shall  be 
completed. 

Where  experts  do  not  act  within  the  time  fixed  their  power 
shall  be  revoked. 

Article  33.  If  there  is  a  dispute  as  to  the  legal  title  or  legal 
standing  of  the  claimant,  and  whenever  difficulties  arise  not  im- 
mediately connected  with  ascertainment  of  the  amount  of  in- 
demnity, the  indemnity  shall  be  determined  independent  of  these 
controversies  and  difficulties,  with  respect  to  which  the  parties 
shall  be  relegated  to  their  legal  remedies. 

Article  34.  In  reckoning  periods  of  time  the  provisions  of 
article  1033  of  the  code  of  civil  procedure  shall  obtain. 

Article  35.  The  decisions  of  the  tribunals  as  well  as  tran- 
scripts or  copies  or  extracts  therefrom,  which  may  be  delivered 
to  the  parties,  and  especially  of  procedural  instruments  within 

38 


the  purview  of  the  present  statute,  had  before  cantonal  eommia- 
sions  and  before  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by 
war,  shall  be  exempted  from  the  requirements  of  internal  rev- 
enue and  registration.  They  shall  state  upon  their  face  that  they 
are  made  pursuant  to  the  present  statute.  [In  France  as  well  as 
in  England  the  state  derives  a  considerable  revenue  from  taxa- 
tion of  instruments  used  in  the  course  of  litigation.  Proceedings 
under  the  present  statute  are  exempted  therefrom.] 

Wherever  in  support  of  their  contentions  the  parties  produce 
unregistered  instruments  which  the  laws  require  to  be  registered 
within  a  fixed  period  or  instruments  not  drawn  up  upon  stamped 
paper  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  revenue  laws,  the  can- 
tonal commission  or  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused 
by  war,  of  its  own  motion,  shall  order  the  filing  of  these  instru- 
ments before  the  clerk  in  conformity  with  article  16  of  the  statute 
of  August  23,  1871  in  order  that  they  may  be  immediately  regis- 
tered or  stamped. 

Article  36.  Appeal  may  be  taken  from  the  decisions  of  the 
tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war  to  the  council 
of  state  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  jurisdiction,  excess  of  power  or 
decision  contrary  to  law.  The  appeal  must  be  taken  within  two 
months  from  the  date  on  which  the  more  diligent  party  is  notified 
of  the  decision  by  an  officer  of  the  court.  The  petition  for  appeal 
shall  be  filed  with  the  clerk  of  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  dam- 
age caused  by  war. 

In  case  the  proceedings  are  set  aside  the  court  shall  designate 
a  tribunal  to  pass  de  novo  upon  the  claim  of  indemnity. 

Article  37.  A  proceeding  for  reparation  of  damages  within 
the  purview  of  article  2  shall  be  barred  by  limitation  two  years 
after  signature  of  the  treaty  of  peace  except  in  case  of  vis  major. 

In  case  the  commissions  and  the  tribunal  provided  for  by  the 
present  statute  are  dissolved  at  the  time  when  the  action  is 
brought  it  shall  be  brought  before  the  prefectural  councU  subject 
to  appeal  to  the  council  of  state. 

Article  38.  The  office  of  member  of  a  tribunal  for  ascertain- 
ing the  damage  caused  by  war  shall  be  incompatible  with  that  of 
member  of  a  cantonal  commission,  with  the  character  of  a  claim- 
ant within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  tribunal  and  with  the  exercise 
of  an  elective  office. 


39 


Article  39.  Every  person  who  by  reason  of  his  oflSce  or  pro- 
fession is  called  upon  to  take  part  in  the  procedure  provided  for 
by  the  present  statute  is  bound  to  professional  secrecy  under  the 
provisions  of  article  378  of  the  penal  code  and  punishable  by  the 
penalties  provided  for  by  that  article.  [§378  of  the  French  penal 
code  imposes  a  penalty  of  six  months'  imprisonment  or  a  fine  of 
from  100  to  500  frs.  in  case  members  of  professions  or  adminis- 
trative officers  reveal  secrets  confided  to  them  in  the  course  of 
their  office  or  profession.] 

Article  40.  Within  a  month  from  the  promulgation  of  the 
present  statute  the  details  of  organization  and  the  duties  of 
clerks  before  the  cantonal  commissions  and  the  tribunals  for  as- 
certaining damage  caused  by  war  shall  be  determined  by  a  decree 
rendered  at  the  instance  of  the  minister  of  justice  and  the  minis- 
ter of  liberated  regions. 

Article  41.  At  the  request  of  the  claimant,  within  15  days 
the  clerk  of  the  cantonal  commission  or  of  the  tribunal  for  ascer- 
taining damage  caused  by  war  shall  deliver  to  the  claimant  a 
transcript  of  every  decision  in  which  he  is  concerned.  This 
transcript  shall  set  forth  the  name  of  the  claimant,  the  category 
and  nature  of  the  damages,  the  amount  of  injury  undergone,  and 
if  there  is  occasion  therefor,  the  amount  corresponding  to  de- 
preciation resulting  from  age  and  decay  and  of  additional  cost 
of  reconstruction  or  replacement. 

Certificates  that  no  appeal  has  been  taken  shall  be  delivered 
under  the  same  conditions  by  the  clerks  of  the  cantonal  commis- 
sions and  the  tribunals  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war. 

Article  42.  During  the  progress  of  a  proceeding  for  fixing 
the  indemnity  for  damages  undergone  by  persons  holding  con- 
cessions for  public  service  from  the  state,  from  departments  and 
from  communes,  at  the  initiative  of  the  authority  granting  the 
concession,  or  of  the  concessionaries,  modifications  of  the  contract 
of  concession  or  the  tariffs  of  charges  may  be  made,  particularly 
in  order  to  improve  the  conditions  of  the  undertaking,  saving  the 
rights  and  interests  of  concessionaries  in  case  these  modfications 
impose  burdens  in  excess  of  the  original  concession.  In  default 
of  an  agreement  within  three  months  following  the  decision  the 
authority  granting  the  concession  shall  have  as  of  right  a  power 

40 


of  repurchase.  The  repurchase  shall  be  exercised  under  the  con- 
ditions fixed  by  the  tariff  of  charges  if  a  tariff  is  provided,  and 
if  not  upon  the  testimony  of  experts  based  in  every  case  upon  the 
results  of  the  enterprise  in  the  five  years  preceding  1914.  In 
case  of  repurchase  the  authority  granting  the  concession  shall  be 
subrogated  as  of  right  to  all  the  rights  of  the  concessionary  under 
the  present  law. 

TITLE  IV.    Payment. 

Article  43.  When  a  final  decision  has  been  made  upon  the 
subject  of  one  or  more  of  the  categories  of  damages  provided  for 
in  article  2  or  damages  within  the  purview  of  article  15,  each  of 
the  transcripts  delivered  to  the  claimant  under  article  41  may 
at  his  request  be  exchanged  within  two  months,  and  under  the 
supervision  of  the  minister  of  finance,  for  a  bond  in  the  amount 
awarded  for  reparation  of  loss  undergone.  This  bond  is  not  ne- 
gotiable ;  advances  may  be  made  upon  it  under  conditions  to  be 
fixed  by  decisions  of  the  minister  of  finance  and  the  minister  of 
liberated  regions;  upon  authorization  setting  forth  the  reasons, 
given  by  the  civil  tribunal  in  banc  with  the  advice  of  the  state 's 
attorney,  it  may  be  transferred  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  articles  1689  and  following  of  the  civil  code,  or  pledged  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  provisions  of  articles  2071  and  following  of  the 
civil  code.  [§1689  and  following  of  the  French  civil  code  pro- 
vide for  assignment  of  choses  in  action  by  handing  over  the  in- 
strument by  which  the  chose  is  evidenced  and  giving  notice  to 
the  debtor  thereunder,  or  in  the  alternative  by  an  assignment 
drawn  up  before  a  notary.  Articles  2971  ff.  contain  elaborate 
provisions  as  to  pledges.] 

A  claimant  who  resumes  use  under  the  conditions  provided 
for  by  articles  4  and  5  of  the  present  statute,  or  who  exercises 
the  power  reserved  to  him  by  article  9  shall  receive  under  the 
same  conditions  a  further  bond  indicating  the  amount  of  addi- 
tional expense  awarded  to  him. 

A  like  additional  bond  shall  be  delivered  for  the  excess  of  the 
value  of  replacement  over  the  amount  of  loss  undergone  in  the 
case  of  movables  within  the  purview  of  sub-paragraphs  1  to  4  of 
paragraph  4  of  article  13.  In  case  of  movables  within  the  pur- 
view of  the  three  first  sub-paragraphs  of  said  paragraph,  delivery 

41 


of  the  additional  bond  is  subject  to  the  condition  of  beginning 
the  undertaking. 

The  amounts  corresponding  to  the  depreciation  resulting  from 
age  and  decay  shown  by  a  transcript  of  a  final  decision  shall  en- 
title the  claimant  to  a  special  instrument  evidencing  his  right 
to  the  advance  provided  for  by  paragraph  5  of  article  5  of  the 
present  statute. 

In  case  of  levies  in  kind,  fines  and  contributions  of  war  im- 
posed by  enemy  authorities  or  enemy  troops,  a  special  bond  shall 
within  two  months  be  exchanged  for  a  transcript  of  a  final  de- 
cision and  shall  bear  interest  at  5  per  cent,  from  the  date  of  the 
damage.  Amounts  due  under  this  head  shall  be  paid  to  the  claim- 
ant in  specie  on  presentation  of  the  bond. 

Article  44.  If  the  claimant  resumes  use  of  lands  under  the 
conditions  provided  for  by  articles  4  and  5,  or  of  movables,  or  if 
he  makes  an  undertaking  before  the  cantonal  commission  or  the 
tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war  to  proceed  to 
resume  use  or  to  rebuild,  without  making  further  proof,  and 
within  two  months  from  the  date  of  delivery  of  the  bond,  he  shall 
have  the  right  to  a  first  instalment  of  25  per  cent,  of  the  sum 
allowed  for  damage  undergone,  which  instalment  shall  not  be 
less  than  3,000  frs.  if  the  loss  undergone  is  equal  to  or  in  excess 
of  this  amount,  nor  more  than  100,000  frs.  unless  he  proves  be- 
fore the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war,  by  the 
production  of  receipts,  accounts,  invoices,  bills  of  lading,  or  ac- 
cepted orders,  a  greater  outlay  or  greater  immediate  need. 

The  payment  of  the  amount  of  loss  undergone  shall  be  made 
to  him  by  successive  instalments  as  fast  as  he  proves  work  done 
or  purchases  made  under  the  conditions  of  the  preceding  para- 
graph. Each  payment  shall  be  made  within  two  months  after 
proof.  When  the  payment  of  loss  undergone  has  been  fully 
made  the  amount  of  additional  cost  shall  be  paid  under  the  same 
conditions  upon  presentation  of  the  additional  bond. 

The  same  rule  shall  apply  in  case  of  the  excess  of  cost  of  re- 
placement over  the  amount  of  loss  undergone  with  respect  to 
movables  within  the  purview  of  sub-paragraphs  1  to  4  of  para- 
graph 4  of  article  13. 

The  amounts  allowed  to  the  claimants  for  reparation  of  dam- 
ages caused  to  movables  within  the  purview  of  paragraph  2  of 

42 


article  13  of  the  present  statute  shall  be  paid  after  payment  of 
all  other  sums  due  to  the  said  claimant  upon  whatever  account. 

If  after  appropriation  of  the  amount  of  additional  expense 
to  the  reconstruction  of  buildings  or  the  resumption  of  an  enter- 
prise, the  claimant  exercises  the  power  reserved  to  him  by  para- 
graph 5  of  article  5  the  amount  corresponding  to  depreciation 
resulting  from  age  and  decay  shall  be  paid  to  him  on  the  pre- 
sentation of  his  special  bond  from  time  to  time  as  he  produces 
proofs  of  the  work. 

Without  regard  to  the  foregoing  provisions  and  before  any 
appraisement  of  damage  caused  by  war,  injured  persons  may  be 
allowed  advances  to  meet  their  urgent  necessities,  the  conditions 
whereof  shall  be  fixed  by  agreement  between  the  minister  of  lib- 
erated regions  and  the  minister  of  finance. 

Article'  45.  In  case  the  claimant  is  entitled  only  to  the 
amount  of  loss  undergone,  if  within  two  years  he  makes  a  declara- 
tion before  the  cantonal  commission  or  the  tribunal  for  ascer- 
taining damage  caused  by  war  of  his  intention  to  devote  the  in- 
demnity to  the  improvement  of  land,  to  an  agricultural,  indus- 
trial or  commercial  use,  or  to  the  exercise  of  a  profession  within 
any  part  of  the  territory,  the  indemnity  representing  the  loss 
undergone  shall  be  equalized  and  paid  to  him  in  successive  in- 
stalments upon  proof  of  work  done  or  purchases  made. 

Excepting  the  cases  provided  for  by  article  8,  if  the  claimant 
does  not  devote  the  indemnity  to  improvement  of  land  or  an  agri- 
cultural, industrial  or  commercial  use,  or  the  exercise  of  a  pro- 
fession, the  payment  shall  be  made  in  10  equal  annual  payments, 
the  first  instalment  being  payable  3  months  after  delivery  of  the 
bond,  and  the  following  payments  in  successive  periods  of  12 
months. 

Abticle  46.  With  the  consent  of  the  claimant  the  state  may 
make  redemption  as  follows:  With  respect  to  land,  buildings 
and  fixtures,  by  giving  another  immovable  of  the  same  nature 
and  of  the  same  value  situated  in  the  canton  in  which  the  damage 
was  done,  or  in  a  neighboring  canton. 

With  respect  to  immovables  by  destination  and  movables  used 
for  industrial,  commercial,  agricultural,  professional  or  domestic 
purposes  by  a  similar  chattel  of  the  same  value. 

43 


With  respect  to  other  movables  by  the  delivery  of  movables 
of  the  same  kind  and  the  same  value. 

The  state  may  also  redeem  in  whole  or  in  part  by  restoring 
immovables  or  damaged  movables  at  its  own  cost  or  by  furnish- 
ing the  materials  for  such  restoration. 

It  shall  also  have  the  power  to  acquire  in  whole  or  in  part 
damaged  or  destroyed  immovables.  In  default  of  an  agreement 
the  price  shall  be  determined  under  the  rules  prescribed  by  the 
preceding  title  for  the  appraisement  of  indemnity,  taking  ac- 
count of  the  value  of  the  land  and  all  the  elements  provided  for 
in  case  of  resumption  of  use  if  the  vendor  shall  undertake  to 
comply  with  the  precise  conditions  of  article  5  of  the  present  law. 
The  payment  shall  be  made  according  to  the  facts  of  the  case 
in  accordance  with  articles  44  and  45. 

The  state  may  acquire  land  after  an  attempt  at  agreement 
with  the  owner  of  the  land  has  been  depreciated  through  the  use 
made  of  it  and  the  cost  of  putting  it  into  condition  for  use  would 
exceed  its  value  taking  account,  if  there  is  occasion,  of  the  de- 
preciation which  would  result  to  the  remainder  of  the  land  in 
case  of  a  partial  acquisition  by  the  state. 

In  all  cases  and  at  any  time  the  state  shall  have  the  power 
to  exercise  its  right  of  redemption  by  anticipation. 

If  the  claimant  is  indebted  to  the  state  on  any  account  what- 
ever even  for  payment  of  contributions,  the  amount  so  due  shall 
at  his  request  be  applied  upon  the  amount  of  his  indemnity,  and 
this  amount  shall  not  be  exacted  from  him  before  the  amount 
of  indemnity  has  been  determined. 

Article  47.  Sums  due  from  the  state  for  reparation  of  dam- 
age undergone  with  the  exception  of  sums  due  for  damages  done 
to  country  houses  and  movables  within  the  purview  of  paragraph 

2  of  article  13  shall  bear  interest  at  5  per  cent,  per  annum  from 
November  11,  1918,  which  shall  be  payable  to  the  claimant  quar- 
terly in  cash. 

In  all  cases  of  damage  done  to  stocks  of  merchandise,  har- 
vested crops,  stocks  of  provisions  and  raw  materials  which  are 
not  within  the  purview  of  paragraph  4,  sub-paragraphs  1,  2  and 

3  of  article  13,  interest  shall  begin  to  run  six  months  after  the 
date  of  damage. 

In  case  of  damage  done  to  stocks  of  merchandise,  harvested 

44 


crops,  stocks  of  provisions  and  raw  materials  during  the  enemy 
occupation,  interest  shall  run  from  the  date  of  the  invasion. 

Article  48.  Payment  of  indemnities,  interest  and  advances 
shall  be  made  directly  by  the  state  or  under  its  guaranty.  lu 
case  the  state  shall  seek  the  co-operation  of  financial  establish- 
ments the  agreements  made  shall  be  submitted  to  ratification  by 
Parliament. 


TITLE  V.    Miscellaneous  Provisions. 

Article  49.  In  case  of  resumption  of  use  and  of  reinvest- 
ment, the  right  to  indemnity  may  be  assigned  under  the  condi- 
tions provided  for  by  articles  1689  and  following  of  the  civil 
code  upon  obtaining  authority  stating  the  grounds  thereof  from 
the  civil  tribunal  in  banc  after  obtaining  the  opinion  of  the  state '^ 
attorney;  the  instruments  evidencing  the  assignment  shall  be 
exempt  from  all  requirements  of  internal  revenue  and  registra- 
tion. 

The  same  provision  shall  apply  where  the  assignment  is  made 
to  an  association  for  loans  upon  land  or  a  co-operative  associa- 
tion or  a  building  and  loan  association,  where  such  association 
assumes  the  expense  of  reconstruction  or  if  the  assignment  is 
made  to  a  charitable  society  specially  approved  for  this  purpose 
by  the  minister  in  charge  of  reconstruction  of  liberated  regions. 

If  the  persons  entitled  to  indemnity  have  assigned  their  right 
to  an  association  for  loans  upon  land  or  a  co-operative  association 
or  a  building  and  loan  association,  the  latter  may  agree  with  them 
as  to  the  advances  necessary  for  reconstruction  without  being 
obliged  to  prove  a  rental  value  of  one-fifth  of  the  amount  loaned 
or  without  being  obliged  to  call  for  security  by  way  of  mortgage 
and  without  requiring  that  the  borrower  insure  his  life.  [The 
French  laws  relating  to  loans  by  such  associations  require  that 
the  loans  shall  not  exceed  one-fifth  of  the  rental  value  and  that 
the  loan  be  secured  either  by  mortgage  or  by  insurance  upon  the 
borrower's  life.  See  the  statutes  of  April  12,  1906  and  April  10, 
1908.  These  may  also  be  found  in  the  French  administrative 
code.] 

Article  50.  If  prior  to  the  promulgation  of  the  present 
statute  the  claimant  has  sold  land  upon  which  a  building  was 

45 


built,  in  case  he  undertakes  to  resume  use  he  may  sue  before  the 
civil  tribunal  sitting  in  bank  for  rescission  of  the  sale  subject  to 
a  charge  for  reimbursement  to  the  purchaser  of  the  purchase 
price  and  the  legal  costs  of  the  contract. 

Article  51.  The  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by 
war  shall  have  jurisdiction  as  a  matter  of  state  sovereignty  and 
without  appeal  even  on  its  own  motion  and  notwithstanding  any 
agreement  to  the  contrary,  to  reduce  the  amounts  charged  to  the 
claimant  by  agents,  professional  men  and  experts  whom  he  has 
employed  for  the  defence  of  his  interests. 

This  reduction  cannot  be  requested  or  adjudged  by  the  trib- 
unal on  its  own  motion  except  within  two  years  from  the  fixing 
of  the  amount  of  indemnity. 

Amounts  paid  under  such  circumstances  may  be  recovered  by 
the  claimant. 

Article  52.  The  right  to  indemnity  may  be  forfeited  in 
whole  or  in  part  at  any  time  in  the  following  cases : 

1.  Any  person  condemned  after  hearing  or  upon  default 
for  crimes  or  offenses  provided  for  by  articles  204,  205,  206,  208, 
238  and  239  of  the  code  of  military  justice  for  the  army,  or  arti- 
cles 262,  263,  264,  265,  316  and  317  of  the  code  of  military  jus- 
tice for  the  navy.  [These  sections  have  to  do  with  treason,  espi- 
onage and  interfering  with  recruiting,  enlistment  and  similar 
offenses] ; 

2.  Any  Frenchman  or  French  subject  who  defaulted  when 
conscripted  or  deserted  during  the  war.  In  this  last  case  as  well 
as  in  the  case  of  condemnation  by  default  provided  for  in  the 
foregoing  paragraph,  the  forfetiture  of  the  right  to  indemnity 
shall  be  set  aside  as  a  matter  of  right,  if  the  defaulting  conscript, 
the  deserter  or  the  defaulter  ultimately  obtain  a  judgment  of 
acquittal  for  the  crime  or  offense  which  entailed  the  forfeiture. 
Neither  running  of  the  statute  of  limitations  with  respect  to  the 
penalty  nor  running  of  the  statute  of  limitations  with  respect  to 
the  crime  shall  relieve  claimants  from  this  forfeiture.  [In  French 
criminal  procedure  a  Frenchman  may  be  tried  before  a  criminal 
tribunal  in  his  absence  and  if  he  absconds  or  remains  in  foreign 
parts  and  defies  French  criminal  justice  a  condemnation  may  be 
pronounced  "for  contumacy."  I  have  translated  this  "by  de- 
fault" which  is  as  near  to  our  mode  of  procedure  as  we  can  put 

46 


it.  We  used  to  have  something  of  the  same  sort  in  the  outlawry 
of  the  old  law.  Setting  aside  a  judgment  of  outlawry  would  be 
somewhat  similar  to  the  setting  aside  of  the  condemnation  en- 
tered upon  default  referred  to  in  this  section,] 

Article  53.  The  right  to  indemnity  may  be  forfeited  at  any 
time  in  whole  or  in  part  in  case : 

1.  The  claimant  shall  use  the  money  received  as  indemnity 
contrary  to  the  conditions  of  resumption  of  use  under  which  it 
was  awarded ; 

2.  The  claimant  shall  make  an  assignment  thereof  or  con- 
tract with  respect  thereto  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  article 
1321  of  the  civil  code.  [Article  1321  of  the  civil  code  has  to  do 
with  what  we  call  secret  trusts  and  agreements  in  fraud  of  credi- 
tors and  third  persons,  where  they  modify  or  affect  the  terms  of 
recorded  instruments.] 

3.  Any  claimant  who  shall  neglect  to  declare  of  his  own 
motion  any  indemnity  which  he  may  have  received  by  reason  of 
insurance  or  shall  intentionally  make  a  false  declaration. 

In  these  three  cases  the  sums  of  money  paid  over  or  received 
may  be  recovered. 

Article  54.  The  forfeiture  provided  for  in  articles  52  and 
53  shall  be  adjudged  by  the  ordinary  courts  at  the  instance  of 
the  states  attorney  with  the  exception  of  the  forfeiture  provided 
for  by  paragraph  numbered  1  of  article  53  which  shall  be  ad- 
judged by  the  tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war 
at  the  instance  of  a  representative  of  the  state. 

Article  55.  Where  a  person  engaged  in  industry  or  com- 
merce has  reconstructed  his  establishment  in  whole  or  in  part 
according  to  the  conditions  provided  for  in  Title  II  of  the 
present  statute  he  shall  be  bound  15  days  before  beginning 
re-operation  to  give  notice  thereof  to  the  minister  of  labor 
who  shall  deliver  a  receipt  to  him  and  take  all  expedient  meas- 
ures to  bring  this  notice  to  the  attention  of  laborers  or  employ- 
ees whom  the  person  engaged  in  industry  or  commerce  formerly 
employed.  Within  a  month  following  the  declaration  the  work- 
men or  employees  may  resume  work  in  the  order  of  their  enroll- 
ment and  to  the  extent  of  the  needs  of  the  enterprise. 

47 


Article  56.  A  right  of  priority  in  preference  to  all  others 
shall  be  given  to  injured  persons  for  the  purchase  and  transpor- 
tation of  materials  and  raw  material  as  well  as  for  the  hiring  of 
labor  which  may  be  necessary  to  effectuate  resumption  of  use. 
This  right  of  priority  shall  be  regulated  by  a  decree  to  be  made 
within  a  month  after  the  promulgation  of  the  present  statute. 

Article  57.  Provisionally  decisions  already  had  by  cantonal 
commissions  under  the  terms  of  articles  3  to  8  of  the  decree  of 
July  30,  1915  and  by  departmental  commissions  under  the  pro- 
visions of  Titles  II  and  III  of  the  same  decree  may  be  revised 
and  supplemented,  if  there  is  occasion,  at  the  request  of  the  pre- 
fect or  of  claimants  or  of  persons  having  rights  thereunder  in 
order  to  bring  them  into  accord  with  the  provisions  of  the  present 
statute.  In  any  case  objections  may  be  made  to  them  before  the 
tribunal  for  ascertaining  damage  caused  by  war  within  6  months 
from  the  promulgation  of  the  present  statute. 

Article  58.  If  associations  have  been  organized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reconstructing  establishments  or  destroyed  buildings,  in 
case  of  non-resumption  of  use  by  any  member  to  whom  allowance 
has  been  made,  the  amount  of  additional  expense  of  reconstruc- 
tion shall  be  paid  to  the  association  even  without  assignment  from 
the  member,  instead  of  to  the  common  fund  provided  for  in  para- 
graph 2  of  article  7  of  the  present  statute. 

Article  59.  The  expense  of  re-survey,  of  determination  of 
boundaries,  and  if  there  is  occasion,  of  re-recording  made  neces- 
sary by  the  events  of  war  shall  be  charged  to  the  state. 

Article  60.  The  expense  of  removing  rubbish  from  land,  of 
searching  for  and  removing  unexploded  projectiles,  shall  also  be 
at  the  expense  of  the  state  which  can  proceed  to  do  these  things 
of  its  own  motion  under  an  agreement  with  the  municipality 
without  the  authority  of  owners.  The  state  shall  become  owner 
of  the  material  removed. 

The  state  shall  be  responsible  for  accidents  due  to  the  explo- 
sion of  unexploded  projectiles. 

Article  61.  The  cost  of  drawing  up  plans  for  street  and 
building  lines  and  levels  with  respect  to  public  ways  of  all  sorts 
which  may  require  to  be  straightened  in  view  of  the  reconstruc- 

48 


tion  of  buildings  destroyed  in  communes  or  parts  of  communes 
injured  by  the  events  of  war  shall  be  a  charge  upon  the  state. 

Subventions  entered  upon  the  budget  of  the  minister  charged 
with  reconstruction  of  liberated  regions  may  be  granted  to  con- 
munes  by  the  minister  in  order  to  cover  the  expense  of  immediate 
application  of  plans  of  street  and  building  lines  and  levels  so  far 
as  has  to  do  with  public  ways  with  respect  to  which  the  ownership 
of  the  soil  belongs  to  the  commune,  and  to  the  department  with 
respect  to  departmental  highways. 

These  subventions  shall  be  particularly  applicable  for  ac- 
quisition of  unimproved  land  or  of  buildings  in  an  actual  condi- 
tion of  ruin  or  decay,  or  seriously  damaged,  which  are  within  the 
street  and  building  lines.  The  price  of  acquisition  of  these  lands 
and  buildings  in  default  of  agreement  shall  be  fixed  by  a  jury 
composed  of  four  jurors  under  the  conditions  fixed  by  article  16 
of  the  statute  of  May  21,  1836,  no  matter  what  the  character  of 
the  public  way  in  which  these  lands  and  buildings  are  to  be  in- 
corporated may  happen  to  be. 

Interest  upon  the  foregoing  subventions  shall  be  determined 
in  accordance  with  a  table  to  be  fixed  by  a  decree  countersigned 
by  the  minister  of  finance  and  the  minister  of  liberated  regions. 

Article  62.  Expense  resulting  from  improvements  in 
groups  of  buildings  required  by  public  hygiene  under  the  regu- 
lations of  public  administration  provided  for  by  article  5  shall 
be  a  charge  upon  the  state. 

Article  63,  Sums  remaining  due  from  communes  in  France 
upon  loans  contracted  by  them  to  meet  the  events  of  previous 
wars  shall  be  taken  over  by  the  state  from  the  date  of  the  promul- 
gation of  the  present  law. 

Article  64.  A  special  statute  shall  regulate  rights  and  obli- 
gations resulting  from  losses  of  buildings  destroyed  by  the  events 
of  war  as  well  as  fortified  places  or  localities  the  inhabitants  of 
which  evacuated  them  under  military  order. 

Article  65.  A  special  statute  shall  regulate  the  conditions 
under  which  there  shall  be  a  right  to  reparation  of  damages  oc- 
casioned to  commercial  capital. 

Article  66.    A  special  statute  shall  determine  the  conditions 

49 


in  which  the  right  to  reparation  shall  be  exercised  in  the  follow- 
ing cases : 

1.  Damages  to  the  person  resulting  from  the  events  of  war ; 
damages  to  person  or  property  because  of  accidents  taking  place : 

(a)  in  state  arsenals,  munition  factories  and  stores  of  munitions; 

(b)  in  private  factories  while  doing  work  for  the  national  defence 
when  reparation  cannot  be  obtained  by  recourse  to  the  general 
law.  The  state  shall  be  subrogated  to  the  rights,  actions  and 
liens  of  the  victim  of  the  damage  in  order  to  recover  advances 
which  it  may  have  made  to  him  in  order  to  meet  his  very  urgent 
needs. 

Article  67.  For  three  years  following  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities the  inhabitants  of  regions  affected  by  the  events  of  war 
who  prepare  in  their  homes  places  capable  of  being  let  or  sublet 
furnished  to  transient  visitors  shall  be  entitled  in  each  commune 
to  form  a  legal  association  under  the  provisions  of  the  law  of 
March  21,  1884.  [The  law  of  March  21,  1884  allows  associations 
of  employers,  workmen  or  professional  men  to  be  made  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  interests  of  their  trade,  business  or  profes- 
sion. As  it  were,  it  exempts  them  from  the  operation  of  what 
we  should  call  anti-trust  laws  and  laws  against  restraint  of  trade.] 

The  lodgings  offered  for  letting  or  subletting  shall  conform 
to  conditions  prescribed  by  the  departmental  commission  of  hy- 
giene and  shall  be  subject  to  its  control. 

The  list  of  these  lodgings  with  the  terms  approved  by  the  na- 
tional bureau  of  tourists  shall  be  put  at  the  disposition  of  all 
inquirers  in  the  office  of  the  Mayor. 

Article  68.  The  present  statute  shall  apply  to  colonies  and 
protectorates.  A  regulation  of  public  administration  shall  de- 
termine the  conditions  of  this  applicaton. 

Indemnities  awarded  for  reparation  of  damage  caused  by  the 
events  of  war  in  the  colonies  shall  be  charged  upon  credits  to  be 
opened  in  the  general  budget  of  the  state. 

Article  69.  The  first  paragraph  of  article  4  of  the  statute 
of  July  5,  1917  with  respect  to  proof  of  the  condition  of  places 
with  respect  to  which  claim  for  reparation  of  damages  caused 
by  war  may  be  asserted  is  amended  by  adding  thereto  the  fol- 
lowing : 


"Whenever  a  state  expert  has  been  appointed  by  the  prefect 
under  the  conditions  set  forth  in  the  first  article,  the  report  of 
inspection  and  the  official  description  of  the  locus  shall  be  filed 
in  the  office  of  the  prefect.     He  shall  deliver  a  receipt  therefor. ' ' 

Article  70.  The  decrees  of  4  February,  1915  modified  by  the 
decrees  of  the  8th  and  27th  April,  1915,  of  24th  March  1915 
modified  by  the  decree  of  22  April,  1915,  and  of  20th  July,  1915 
as  well  as  all  other  provisions  contrary  to  the  present  statute  are 
and  shall  remain  repealed. 


51 


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